New Wisconsin subdivision to require solar on ever...

As some homeowners associations debate whether solar panels should be allowed, at a new Milwaukee-area subdivision, they will be mandatory. Ground was broken in late May on Red Fox Crossing, a 34-home development where deed restrictions require solar installations, with the cost paid back through the mortgage. The developers and other local experts said they don’t know of any similar development in the Midwest. But the...

Trump tells mayor of island literally sinking into...

Trump denies the key reason Tangier Island is doomed, but the mayor still loves him President Donald Trump’s supporters have been the subject of countless stories just since November on the fact that they seemingly “vote against their economic interests.” But few stories note that they voted against their existential interests as well. Trump’s refusal to accept the scientific consensus on the reality and urgency of climate...

U.S. Utility Industry Execs Say Renewables Trend U...

Bloomberg View: Why is it that all of the people I’ve talked to and heard speak on panels this week in Boston at the annual convention of the Edison Electric Institute, a utilities trade group, seem to think the shift toward renewables and away from coal is just going to keep going? Mainly because they think Trump is too late (and my Bloomberg View colleague Noah Smith agrees). “We’re over the tipping point now,” said Jan...

On the Blogs: Ohio’s Fight Against Wind Turbines I...

American Wind Energy Association: For years, Ohio has largely missed out on economic development opportunities from the U.S. wind industry. Currently, Ohio contains just three utility-scale wind projects, significantly less than neighboring states. As a result, Ohio wind projects represent just $1.1 billion of capital investments, significantly lagging neighboring states. In comparison, the U.S. wind industry has invested...

Rover Pipeline faces more environmental scrutiny &...

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday it found diesel fuel in the drilling mud Rover Pipeline builders spilled in a local wetland in April. With the discovery, the state EPA raised the proposed penalty against Rover to $914,000 and ordered the pipeline company to monitor groundwater around the spill area and near a quarry where workers have been disposing drilling mud in pits. The quarry is near a well owned...

Pile On The Payoff = When Battery Energy Storage S...

Utility executives may be calling battery energy storage (BES) systems the holy grail of renewables integration and other industry challenges, but here’s an ironic reality: Most organizations keep that holy grail half full or even close to empty. That’s because most organizations target few value streams from battery systems, damaging the profitability of the investment. Learn how storage investments can provide value along...

Michigan Rep. Tim Walberg says God will ‘tak...

                        U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg.(Photo: J. Scott Park, Associated Press)   U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan said last week that while he believes climate change is real, it is something for God — not humans — to fix, according to a report in Time.  The congressman told his constituents during a town hall meeting in Coldwater that he believes God will...

Trump administration takes a ‘drastic’...

The Trump administration is ramping up efforts to quash a climate change lawsuit brought by 21 young people. Trump’s legal team on Friday took an unusual step that shows just how determined the Justice Department is to keep Juliana v. United States from going to trial. Lawyers filed a “writ of mandamus” petition with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to review a federal judge’s decision from...

New technology could recover more oil from early B...

Oil companies are applying new hydraulic fracturing techniques to early Bakken wells, a process industry leaders say has the potential to recover more oil without increasing the footprint on the land. Operators are targeting wells drilled between 2008 and 2010, the early years of Bakken development before fracking technology advanced to where it is today. Companies are refracturing the older wells using today’s technology...

The Solar Industry Is Creating Jobs Nearly 17 Time...

In 2016, jobs in the United States solar industry increased nearly 17 times faster than the rate of the overall economy. This was part of a global trend of jobs growing in renewable energy. The data shows it: We don’t have to choose between good jobs and the future of our planet. A new report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) reveals that solar jobs in the US (and around the world) are expanding...

Report claims Ohio one of worst states for water q...

Nearly one in four Americans — 77 million people in the U.S. — are drinking water that comes from untested or contaminated systems, and Ohio ranks as one of the worst states for offenses. A new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council found that there were nearly 80,000 violations impacting every state in the U.S. in 2015, but consequences were few and far between due to a lack of under-reporting and lax enforcement...

Intro to IoT – 9 Major Keys to the Internet of Thi...

“The Internet of Things – a monstrous phenomenon to fathom. Be prepared to have your life disrupted, for the better or the worse…”  This radical disruption will impact you and the ones closest to you. Your safety, security, health, and convenience are all at stake. This post will give you an intro to IoT and help you take the rights steps to get a grip on the Internet of Things. Here are the 9 major KEYs to IoT and a more...

Survey: What Electricity Customers Really Want

SGCC’s latest consumer-pulse study finds high levels of interest in grid edge tech, but also hesitancy. Electricity customers have more choice in how they consume and manage their energy today than at any time before, and the number of options available continues to multiply. But what is it customers want? What types of products and services are they being drawn to? And are they following through with a purchase? That’s what...

Another Fracking Time Bomb Lurks Beneath U.S.

You’ve heard about the earthquakes, the controversial claims of flammable tap water, the potential contamination of streams, lakes and drinking water aquifers, but the system that’s supposed to pay for these calamities may itself be a pending disaster. Most states protect taxpayers from cleanup costs by requiring oil and gas producers to buy a surety bond that will pay in the event of a disaster. But those bond...

Questions linger decades after River Valley cleanu...

MARION — Twenty-some years ago, parents in the River Valley School District became alarmed at the statistically high number of cancer patients there, many of them current or former students. Their fears grabbed the attention of public health officials, who began studies to determine the cause. Despite years of investigation, no scientific link ever was made between the illnesses and the tons of toxic sludge buried beneath...