Carbon Lighthouse, a San Francisco-based energy-efficiency company, raised $27 million to expand its engineering and marketing efforts. GRC SinoGreen Fund led the oversubscribed funding round and JCI Ventures, SV Tech Ventures and EBay founder Pierre Omidyar’s Ulupono Initiative also participated, according to Carbon Lighthouse Chief Executive Officer Brenden Millstein. Other investors included Ekistic Ventures, Tom Steyer’s Radicle Impact Partners, former General Motors Co. Vice Chairman Steve Girsky and Tesla Inc. Chief Technology Officer Jeffrey B Straubel.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced an acceleration of energy efficiency in New York, including a plan to achieve a new target for greenhouse gas emission reductions, decrease consumer energy costs and create job opportunities.

The nation’s energy sector employed 6.5 million Americans in 2017, up 133,000 jobs from the year prior, according to a comprehensive report released today from the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) and the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO). This two percent growth rate exceeded the national average of 1.7 percent.

A report that examines statements about rolling blackouts made by regional grid operator ISO-New England, shows that sustained growth of renewables, and not more gas, will boost reliability of New England’s electric power system.

Clean energy advocates rejoiced as legislation was passed today in New Jersey that will support the development of a massive amount of renewable energy, specifically community solar, energy storage, offshore wind and energy efficiency. The bill also props up nuclear power in the state with the establishment of zero-emission certificates.

In 2017, Massachusetts was ranked No. 1 in energy efficiency by ACEEE for the seventh consecutive year. On the other side of the country, California was ranked a close second after tying with Massachusetts for the top spot in 2016.

According to energy expert, Amory Lovins, CEO of the Rocky Mountain Institute, the energy industry has vastly misunderstood the scope of the energy efficiency resource. Lovins claims that it’s design, not technology that can achieve incredibly energy efficiency gains. Using his own home in the Colorado Rocky Mountains as an example, Lovins shows how simple changes in design have allowed him to grow banana crops using only natural sunlight and reduce the amount of energy he uses significantly.

Integrated energy company E.ON and BNP Paribas Personal Finance are piloting a new energy efficiency financing scheme for UK consumers.

Last week, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the New York State Public Service Commission approved two initiatives to increase New York's energy efficiency and energy storage targets.

Arizona State University researchers have set a new record for solar efficiency, 25.4 percent. Working with tandem photovoltaics, or stacking different materials in a solar cell, the ASU team has continued to improve solar efficiency and lower costs.

GE announced today that it sees a future in housing its renewable generation businesses (onshore and offshore wind, hydropower) alongside its grid businesses which include substations and transformers plus solar, storage and distributed energy resource (DER) control software. GE Renewable Energy CEO Jerome Pecresse said in a press conference that the move will simplify the lives of GE’s customers by giving them one point of contact for all of their renewable energy power needs.

On January 31, 2019, Georgia Power, the largest utility in the state submitted its newest integrated resource plan (IRP) to the state utility commission for approval.

Trump's proposed budget severely cuts the EPA and DOE's efficiency and renewables offices, but allocates funding for R&D, clean coal and advanced nuclear.

A $2 trillion push in the U.S. to blend renewable energy into the power supply and fortify transmission lines against extreme weather means that Americans must act more like Europeans to keep their power costs down.

Trump's proposed budget severely cuts the EPA and DOE's efficiency and renewables offices, but allocates funding for R&D, clean coal and advanced nuclear.

A new report by utility and finance experts contains positive news for the environment, our air and our (and our utilities’) pocketbooks — the economics of electric power resources have made zero-emissions energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies the most financially attractive options to meet the nation’s future energy demands.

In a must-read report released this week on fast-changing energy markets, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi signals a once-in-a-lifetime opening for investors in Middle Eastern renewables and energy efficiency.

A $2 trillion push in the U.S. to blend renewable energy into the power supply and fortify transmission lines against extreme weather means that Americans must act more like Europeans to keep their power costs down.

Just over a decade ago, the state of California faced serious concerns about whether its utilities could generate and/or buy enough power to assure that the world’s seventh-largest economy could keep the lights on. The infamous California energy crisis, which affected several other western states as well, was a complex tangle of poorly structured deregulation, significant market manipulation (remember Enron?), and other causes. Along with rolling blackouts, California endured an official state of emergency that lasted 34 months, led to the recall and replacement of Gov. Gray Davis, and cost the state and its ratepayers billions of dollars — a cautionary tale for all states of electricity supply unable to meet demand.

GE announced today that it sees a future in housing its renewable generation businesses (onshore and offshore wind, hydropower) alongside its grid businesses which include substations and transformers plus solar, storage and distributed energy resource (DER) control software. GE Renewable Energy CEO Jerome Pecresse said in a press conference that the move will simplify the lives of GE’s customers by giving them one point of contact for all of their renewable energy power needs.

France’s planned energy law will mobilize about €10 billion (US $13.4 billion) in investment through tax credits and low-interest loans to spur efficiency and renewable power, Environment Minister Segolene Royal said.

A $2 trillion push in the U.S. to blend renewable energy into the power supply and fortify transmission lines against extreme weather means that Americans must act more like Europeans to keep their power costs down.

On the 15 October 2019 the government published its consultation on the future trajectory of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard for commercial properties under the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 ...

Many in local government will already be familiar with the CRC Scheme. This is the UK’s mandatory emissions trading scheme aimed at improving energy efficiency and cutting carbon dioxide emissions in large public and privat...

To get energy efficiency programs back on track, governments need to focus on education, incentives and improved regulations, as well as artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Microchip Expands Silicon Carbide (SiC) Family of Power Electronics to Provide System Level Improvements in Efficiency, Size and Reliability

A well-designed evaluation system can be effective in motivating bureaucrats to shift their efforts toward a more environmentally friendly growth path.

A well-designed evaluation system can be effective in motivating bureaucrats to shift their efforts toward a more environmentally friendly growth path.

In plants, water use efficiency (WUE) is a complex trait arising from numerous physiological and developmental characteristics. Here, we investigated the involvement of circadian regulation in long-term WUE in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) under light and dark conditions. Circadian rhythms are generated by the circadian oscillator, which provides a cellular measure of the time of day. In plants, the circadian oscillator contributes to the regulation of many aspects of physiology, including stomatal opening, rate of photosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, and developmental processes such as the initiation of flowering. We investigated the impact of the misregulation of numerous genes encoding various components of the circadian oscillator on whole plant, long-term WUE. From this analysis, we identified a role for the circadian oscillator in WUE. It appears that the circadian clock contributes to the control of transpiration and biomass accumulation. We also established that the circadian oscillator within guard cells can contribute to long-term WUE. Our experiments indicate that knowledge of circadian regulation will be important for developing crops with improved WUE.

A new study investigates the impact of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), the largest international cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions in the world, on power plant fuel efficiency.

A new study published in the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists investigates the impact of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), the largest international cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions in the world, on power plant fuel efficiency.

As part of Attorney General Eric Holder’s call for cost-cutting measures to streamline operations and reduce spending during a time of constrained funding, the Department of Justice today announced that it will realign functions in various offices, lower lease costs by consolidating or reducing office space and continue to look for ways to more effectively utilize the department’s resources.

"Over the last few decades – and, especially, in recent years – your efforts have become essential not only in making the organizations you serve more efficient, more effective, and more accountable – but also in preserving the principles that define who we are, and must continue to be – both as a government, and as a people," said Attorney General Holder.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions tried to prepare for social isolation like they would for a blizzard—stocking up not just on toilet paper and sanitizer, but also on pantry basics like milk, eggs, flour, and beans. Faced with this sudden surge in demand, grocery stores across the country were completely overwhelmed. Not just shelves but entire stores were cleared out, so “one-per-customer” rules were established on select items and notices were posted detailing which were out of stock. As we have written elsewhere, the capitalists can’t efficiently sustain supply chains through a crisis such as this.

Normally you can't have it both ways, unless you have a member of congress in your pocket.

People want big SUVs and pickups, not little fuelsippers. What's a car maker to do?

From record investments in energy investments made by US states, to East Africa's largest wind power project, Chicago's smart gridization, to Chevron's huge fine being upheld, here's what we're reading today.

Finally, Net Zero done right.

Dr. Steven Fawkes defines elegance as "the quality of being pleasingly ingenious and simple."

Mini-spots, reflectors and candelabra bulbs were supposed to become more efficient next year, saving 80 billion kWh.

You can now view the energy and water efficiency performance of the company's North Carolina and Oregon data centers in real-time.

Thanks to COVID-19, a lot more than previously thought.