RESIDENTIAL: Montgomery Energy Connection has a new member, Senior Planet Montgomery. They now have brand new energy-focused lectures and workshops. They have new lectures and hands-on workshops called Make Energy Cents + Pay Your Energy Bill Online. Find a workshop near you. 

RESIDENTIAL: Smart lighting bulbs are LEDs, which draws much less power than traditional incandescent light bulbs. Jenn Williams, COO Chief Operating Officer, of LewLew Energy wrote a guest blog to let us know about smart LED lighting. Find out how it is set to become the next phase in the constant evolution of energy efficiency in the age of IoT (The internet of Things).

COUNTY: In February, Montgomery will hold a town hall on hundreds of recommendations from climate workgroups convened last year by County Executive Marc Elrich. And by early 2021, officials hope to unveil a comprehensive plan detailing how the county will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2027 and 100 percent by 2035. You can learn more through this Washington post article.

COUNTY: The Commission is a nine-member body of Rockville residents with backgrounds in science, the environment and education. They have several spots open this year. The purpose of the Commission is to recommend policies and programs to the Mayor and Council and city staff relating to the environment and sustainability, apply here. Applications are open until filled. 

STATE: The National Energy Education Development Project is excited to announce applications are being accepted for the 2020 Exelon STEM Innovation + Leadership Academy now through April 22nd. The STEM Academy is open to young women who are currently in 10th or 11th grade and are interested in STEM, sustainability, and energy in Exelon service territories. The Exelon STEM Innovation + Leadership Academy is a week – long, residential leadership program where young women learn about the energy industry in fun and interactive ways. Each participant will receive an iPad to use for Academy activities and to take home at the end of the week. To learn more, click here.

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. 

Airplanes: A fully electric commercial plane has completed a test flight in Canada in what operators have called a "world first" for the aviation industry, www.cnn.com

Bacteria: Researchers engineered a strain of E. coli bacteria that can consume carbon dioxide and turn it into energy. The synthetic life-form could someday help combat climate change, www.discovermagazine.com

Bees & Solar Energy: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will create a 12.1 MW solar farm that includes a pollinator habitat that will be planted in the areas under the panels to enhance ecosystems for local and migratory birds and insects, including bees and butterflies, www.power-grid.com

Biomass: According to the NRDC, burning forest biomass for electricity has no role to play as we phase out our reliance on fossil fuels, www.nrdc.org

Clean Energy: Maryland Governor Hogan promotes a plan to reach 100% renewable electricity by 2040, including nuclear power to reach goals for renewable sources, www.baltimoresun.com

Clean vs. Green: Terms such as “renewable energy” and “clean energy” mean different things in different places at different times and this has real issues, www.centralmaine.com

Electric Cars: Depending on the state, access to public charging stations can be adequate — or nearly nonexistent, need to find out where to plug it in, www.routefifty.com

Electricity: This article talks about how much electricity everyday household items use and why switching to LEDs is so important, www.familyhandyman.com

Frozen II: Pop culture and especially Disney movies have the ability to tackle environmental conversations in a way no other medium can. Frozen II can spark conversations about climate change and also provides teaching moments, www.thehill.com

Green Travel: Since 2017, the transportation sector has been the U.S. economy’s biggest source of greenhouse gases, find out the best way to travel,  www.washingtonpost.com

Ice Skating: Ice rinks are an important fixture of winter sports, whether for ice hockey, speed skating, curling, ice dancing or figure skating. But with growing concerns about global warming, water scarcity and our planet’s climate crisis, there is now a movement towards utilizing synthetic ice on ice rinks, www.inhabitat.com

Key Trends: Green Biz has compiled a list of ten trends to watch for in 2020 from electric vehicles becoming the cheapest option in vehicles to rise of new green technologies, www.greenbiz.com

Natural Gas:  Shutdown of US coal power facilities saved over 26,000 lives, study finds and the shift to gas saved more than 300m tons of planet-heating carbon dioxide as nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide levels dropped, www.theguardian.com

Phone:  Many smartphone screens switch to warmer colors in the evening to help you sleep better – but research suggests the science behind this is all wrong,  www.theguardian.com

Utility Bills: Maryland ranks ninth among states based on utility bills in a review of costs put together by Move.org, www.marylandmatters.org

Wind Energy: The 12-MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) pilot project will be the first offshore wind project to be built in U.S. federal waters and will use Siemens wind turbines, www.renewableenergyworld.com