The Montgomery County Energy Team receives tons of newsletters and articles every day, and these are a few articles that we wanted to share this month. These articles range from county, state, national and international stories, we hope you find them as interesting as we did.
100% Clean Energy: More than 100 cities have committed to 100% renewable electricity transitions, with most hoping to get there by 2030 or 2050. Burlington, Vt., already achieved this goal — five years ago, and now their target is net zero, www.ilsr.org
Appliances: If you’re not sure which machines in your home use the most energy, this appliance energy calculator on the Department of Energy website can probably help.
Apple Maps: iPhone users can finally view real-time Metro information in Apple Maps, the app will show train and bus schedules, departure and arrival times, vehicles’ current locations, and transfer points, www.dc.curbed.com
Battery Storage: When connected to a renewable energy source such as solar panels or wind turbines, batteries can store any excess clean energy generated to be used as needed, www.wqad.com
Clean Energy: A new survey from the Sierra Club was conducted by the bipartisan polling team of Hart Research Associates (D) and Ferguson Research (R) states that 70 percent of people in Maryland want a transition from dirty coal to clean energy, www.pvbuzz.com
Coffee: Ford has tapped McDonald's to help it turn coffee parts into car parts, they will start incorporating coffee chaff — coffee bean skin that comes off during the roasting process — into the plastic headlamp housing used in some cars, www.cnn.com
Community Solar: 16 states have passed legislation enabling community shared solar gardens, but only four have active programs with multiple installations. This post will be updated quarterly with the number of projects and megawatts of installed capacity in each state with a formal community solar program that allows non-utility ownership, www.ilsr.org
Dunkin’: Dunkin', which dropped the "Donuts" part of its name last year, announced plans in February 2018 to eliminate polystyrene foam cups by 2020, a full transition to be complete by April 2020, www.cnn.com
Electricity: Companies promise Maryland residents free electricity, but lock them into expensive contracts, advocate says, www.baltimoresun.com
Emails: Research from McKinsey showed high-skill knowledge workers spend some 28 percent of their working week managing their emails, “ Pointless emails do not just waste our time, they are killing the planet,” www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
EV Batteries: U.S. automaker General Motors and Korean chemical giant LG Chem will invest $2.3 billion by 2023 in a new joint venture to create battery cells for electric cars in Lordstown, Ohio, www.cheddar.com
Floating Wind Farms: The floating turbines off Maine’s coast could be operational by 2022. The technology could be a model for other states with deep waters, and deep local opposition, www.insideclimatenews.org
Greenhouse Gas: Heliogen, a little-known Los Angeles-based clean energy company backed by Bill Gates and Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, announced that it has discovered a groundbreaking method to generate extreme heat from solar energy that, if fully scaled, could help reduce the world’s greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, www.observer.com
Power Grid: A fundamental power sector transformation is underway as states and utilities increasingly adopt renewable energy and climate targets while wind and solar prices keep tumbling, www.forbes.com
Renewable Energy: Renewable energy provides a chance to curb greenhouse gas emissions, lower the cost of electricity, and empower communities. It’s also better for public health, www.ilsr.org
Solar Car: Hyundai Motor Company has launched its first ever car with a solar roof charging system. The business said that the technology would be used on the latest version of its Sonata Hybrid and then introduced to other vehicles over the coming years, www.cnbc.com
Tesla: Tesla CEO Elon Musk just unveiled the company’s first electric pickup truck, also known as Cybertruck. The truck will come in three versions with 250 miles, 300 miles, and 500 miles of range, respectively. And it will start at $39,900, www.theverge.com
Zero Waste: Montgomery County has set the ambitious target of having zero waste by 2035 by eliminating emissions, restoring watershed areas, increasing recycling compliance and adding more items to the list of what can be recycled, www.mont.thesentinel.com
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