Day: January 8, 2021

Garland Would Bring Rare Environmental Chops as Attorney General

Read the full story at Bloomberg Law.

Judge Merrick Garland would bring an uncommon level of environmental law expertise to the Justice Department’s top spot if confirmed as attorney general in the incoming Biden administration.

The former Supreme Court pick, whom President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate as attorney general, has helped decide the fate of dozens of federal air, water, and energy policies in more than two decades as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. That bench carries a heavy load of environmental cases.

Previous attorney general picks from Democratic and Republican administrations had “nothing comparable on environmental and administrative law” on their resumes, Case Western Reserve University law professor Jonathan H. Adler said of Garland’s experience.

To Ensure a Green Future, We Need Big Data and Smart Mobility

Read the full story at Euractive.

For Europe, the future is green. The European Green Deal (EGD) has set the EU on a course to become the first climate-neutral region on the planet. Its goals are big: in addition to being climate neutral by 2050, the EU plans to reduce pollution to zero, further enhance the circular economy through product sustainability, employ a sustainable chemicals strategy, and implement eco-friendly design and procurement practices that will position the EU as a global leader in sustainability and the green economy.

Energy Department Launches Industrial Technology Validation Pilot for Emerging Advanced Manufacturing Technologies

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the launch of the Industrial Technology Validation (ITV) pilot to validate and accelerate the adoption of cost-effective, emerging technologies with the potential to generate significant operational efficiency improvements for the U.S. industrial sector and water and wastewater treatment facilities.

“Under the Better Buildings Initiative, DOE is proud to partner with industry in support of American energy competitiveness,” said Deputy Secretary of Energy Mark W. Menezes. “Participants are teaming with innovative technology vendors to realize significant energy savings for American businesses and consumers.”

Manufacturing competitiveness is a top priority for the Trump Administration. In 2018, the White House identified advanced manufacturing as one of the vital industries of the future. In its report, “Strategy for American Leadership in Advanced Manufacturing,” the White House explained, “Federal agencies play key roles in fostering the growth of advanced manufacturing through investments in research and development and in education and workforce development.”

“As we look toward the future, we recognize that energy efficiency is a key driver of American industrial competitiveness,” said Daniel Simmons, Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. “Through this pilot, DOE is working to field validate promising new technologies that will improve efficiency and bolster the American industrial base for many decades to come.”

U.S. industry accounts for 32 percent[1] of the country’s total energy consumption, and incurs an annual energy bill of approximately $200 billion.[2] Emerging, efficient technologies can help to address these costs, but the risks involved in installing and objectively validating performance in high-stakes industrial environments can impede adoption.

Through this Request for Proposals (RFP), DOE will provide technical support to Better Plants partners interested in installing emerging technology solutions that:

  • Are either pre-commercial or early commercial, or demonstrate an existing commercialized technology for a new application or sector;
  • Have the potential for demonstrable energy, water, or waste-to-landfill reduction; and,
  • Are broadly applicable for wide-scale deployment, but are not yet widely used or accepted.

For each selected technology, a team of experts led by DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory will design a measurement and verification plan, conduct on-site data collection and testing at the Better Plants partner’s host site, analyze performance, and draft a field validation report. Results will be shared publicly for the benefit of industrial facilities nationwide.

Applications for the initial phase of the ITV pilot are limited to Better Plants partners and a technology partner of their choice. Technologies with the potential for widespread impact will be prioritized during selection. Additional factors to be considered include innovation, performance, cost savings, technical risk, and the level of effort required for measurement and verification. Technologies must be installed at a Better Plants partner’s facility.

For additional information, read the RFP. Applications will be evaluated and decisions will be made on a rolling basis.

Funded by AMO within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the Better Plants program partners with leading manufacturers and water utilities to improve energy efficiency and competitiveness in the industrial sector, saving money in the process. Through Better Plants, partners voluntarily set a specific goal, typically to reduce energy intensity by 25% over a 10-year period across all their U.S. operations. Learn more about Better Plants.

[1] “Energy Use in Industry,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2020. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/use-of-energy/industry.php

[2] “Annual Energy Outlook 2015,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/pdf/0383(2015).pdf.

How Harsco reimagined its Clean Earth division mid-pandemic as a national hazardous waste player

Read the full story in Waste Dive.

President David Stanton discusses building a new business following the acquisition of assets from Stericycle, pandemic effects on different customers and the big potential around managing PFAS waste.

AstraZeneca: Energy and Environmental savings through continuous monitoring and advanced energy analytics

Read the full case study.

AstraZeneca is a global biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The campus in Gaithersburg is one of three of AstraZeneca’s global strategic R&D centers. With 9 buildings across the campus, there are significant savings opportunities associated with the operations of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for offices, labs, and manufacturing areas. Implementing a continuous HVAC controls and monitoring system using advanced analytics and machine learning capabilities has been identified as a key strategy to achieving higher efficiency and reducing environmental impacts for the campus. To implement this strategy, AstraZeneca engaged a third-party vendor through a 3-year energy monitoring contract to provide virtual sub-metering and dashboards for tracking and monitoring energy usage.

Webinar: You Have a Data Center – Now What? Stories from the Field

Tue, Apr 6, 2021 2-3 pm CDT
Register here.

Gain insight into energy efficiency from organizations that have prioritized their data centers as an opportunity for savings. As organizations increasingly rely on data centers as mission critical operations, energy efficiency offers opportunities to make meaningful reductions in overall operating costs. These opportunities, experiences implementing projects, and lessons learned may vary across different data center types, whether they be small, co-location, or enterprise.

In this webinar, attendees will hear from Better Buildings partners about their experiences implementing energy efficiency projects within each of these data center types. Learn how you can leverage energy efficiency to streamline operations, cut operating costs, and increase data center resiliency.

Ford Motor Company’s Kentucky Truck Plant Helps Paint a Bright Energy Future

Read the full story at Compressed Air Best Practices.

The Ford Motor Company Kentucky Truck Plant (KTP) not only manufactures upscale SUVs and pickup trucks painted in wide variety of stellar, high-quality colors and finishes – it does so cost-effectively by conserving annual compressed air energy of approximately 9.2 GWh thanks to a major overhaul of the plant’s compressed air system.

Energy Efficiency as a Service is Catching On

Read the full story at Electrical Contractor.

Innovation has been the driving force of change in the energy industry in recent years. While the demand for change is strong, the challenge of paying for new energy technology remains formidable.

In the spirit of change, financing mechanisms have been equally innovative, helping utilities, building owners and consumers invest in technologies such as photovoltaics, wind power and electric cars, despite the upfront costs.

One of those innovative financing mechanisms, energy efficiency as a service (EEaaS), is helping building owners invest in new technology to reduce energy use. Typically, a building owner enters into an agreement with a provider that pays for energy efficiency retrofits to the building. The building owner does not pay any upfront costs for the improvements. Instead, payments are made in installments over a defined period of time. Payments are covered by the savings in energy costs realized from the improvements.

Food and Beverage Industry Makes Progress Toward Energy Efficiency Goals

Read the full story at Food Industry Executive.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released its 2020 Better Plant Annual Progress Update. The Better Plants program helps manufacturing partners work to reduce energy intensity across their U.S. operations. The typical goal is 25% energy savings in 10 years.

The list of Better Plant partners features several food companies, including Campbell Soup Company, PepsiCo, and Tyson Foods, as well as suppliers such as JBT Corporation.

Indianapolis Public Schools Is Recognized As National Leader In K-12 Sustainability

Read the full story at Patch.

After years of dedicated energy conservation efforts, including a partnership with Cenergistic LLC, Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) attained Goal Achiever certification from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Better Buildings Challenge for 2020.