ELECTRIFY EVERYTHING

CURRENT NEWS

Oct 24 2022

Yale Climate Connections

Energy loss is single biggest component of today’s electricity system

By Karin Kirk

Traditional electricity generation has a thermodynamics problem: Burning fuel to generate electricity creates waste heat that siphons off most of the energy. By the time electricity reaches your outlet, around two-thirds of the original energy…

Oct 20 2022

The New York Times

Researchers Find Benzene and Other Dangers in Gas Piped to California Homes

By Elena Shao Photo: Brett Tryon

The gas that is piped into millions of California homes contains hazardous air pollutants including benzene, a chemical linked to cancer, a new study found.

Oct 12 2022

Newsday

How to electrify everything, and why

By Larissa Johnson Photo: AP/Orlin Wagner

If you’re like most people, you probably only think about energy when filling up your car or paying a hefty electric bill. You probably don’t know that, since 1992, October has been designated “Energy Awareness…

Sep 29 2022

Inside Climate News

Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here’s How to Get Started

By Dan Gearino Photo: Leon Neal, Getty Images

On a recent Sunday afternoon, I went to a room in the basement of a library in Upper Arlington, Ohio, for the first meeting of a group trying to go all-electric and ditch fossil fuels.

Sep 23 2022

Bloomberg

California Moves to Ban Natural Gas Furnaces and Heaters by 2030

Angel Adegbesan

California is committing to a plan that will make it the first US state to phase out gas-fueled furnaces and water heaters in homes, a move environmentalists are betting will provide a template for other…

Sep 13 2022

Utility Dive

A decade after FERC tried to tackle New England gas issues, concerns remain and solutions are uncertain

By Robert Walton Photo: Alexey Lesik, Getty Images

The New England energy system faces natural gas supply constraints that could threaten electric grid reliability this winter. It is an issue that has existed for years, and one that federal regulators have struggled with…

Sep 13 2022

Pirg.org

Tips on saving money while helping the environment through the Inflation Reduction Act

By Teresa Murray Photo: Olivier-Le-Queinec, Shutterstock

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 represents a historic investment in clean energy. The new law with $369 billion dedicated to clean energy could bring consumers tens of thousands of dollars in tax incentives and…

Sep 09 2022

E&E News

Can the Northeast slash carbon and keep the lights on?

By Miranda Wilson and Others

New England needs to start pivoting away from natural gas to address its longstanding electric reliability issues, even as it leans on the fuel in the short term to keep the lights on, the head…

Aug 30 2022

Forbes

Donnel Baird Raises Over $100 Million For BlocPower By Discovering The Right Problem To Solve

By David Reimer

Donnel Baird created BlocPower to solve a huge problem that’s central to the global effort to address climate change. It is such a big problem that investors have poured over $100 million in debt and…

Aug 29 2022

Canary Media

Finally, a heat-pump water heater that plugs into a standard outlet

By Jeff St. John

Last month’s launch of Rheem’s ProTerra 120-volt heat pump water heater might not seem like a big step forward in the fight against climate change. In terms of home electrification accessories, it’s not as sexy…

Aug 19 2022

The Business Journal

Chinatown sees flood of new business after rough sailing during Covid

By Jeff Jeffrey

The area of southwest Houston that is home to the second-largest Indochinese population in the United States was devastated by the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing economic hardships left in its wake. But things…

Aug 12 2022

Power

Renewable Energy, Electrification Big Winners in Inflation Reduction Act

By Darrell Proctor

The U.S. House on Aug. 12 passed a bill with major implications for the power generation industry, joining the U.S. Senate in supporting the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The bill, which now heads to President…

KEY RESOURCES

Heat Pump Systems

10/28/22

Heat pumps offer an energy-efficient alternative to furnaces and air conditioners for all climates. Like your refrigerator, heat pumps use electricity to transfer heat from a cool space to a warm space, making the cool…

MORE NEWS

The Verge

Heat pumps: what they do and why they’re hot now

By Justine Calma Photo: Matthew Horwood, Getty Images 08/11/22

The humble heat pump has finally found its moment in the spotlight. The appliance can potentially save you money on your energy bills, fight climate change, and reduce Europe’s dependency on Russian gas, proponents say.…

Marketwatch

Opinion: Air-conditioner use will jump 280% in the next decades. How can we keep cool without making climate change worse?

By Mary Grady 08/09/22

Recent heatwaves have led to thousands of deaths and captured headlines as we enter a dangerous new era of extreme heat contributing to dangerous wildfires and harming agriculture production. Yet, one of the quickest and…

Bloomberg

The US Climate Bill Could Make Now the Best Time to Go Solar

By Todd Woody Photo: David Paul Morris, Bloomberg 08/05/22

If signed into law as written, the climate bill before the US Congress would change the calculus for American households thinking about going solar. The legislation stands to make that transition more affordable while also…

Gothamist

Why crucial climate bills have stalled in liberal New York despite the deepening crisis

By Rosemary Misdary 08/02/22

New York has some of the strongest climate laws in the country. But when the state Legislature ended its most recent session in early June, some essential bills — ones needed to meet environmental mandates…

Huffpost

The Gas Industry Is Pumping Money Into A Tiny Local Race To Crush A Climate Champion

By Alexander C. Kaufman 07/30/22

By the time Alex Ramel took office in 2020, his fellow Democrats controlled Washington’s House of Representatives and had already divvied up the work on electric vehicles, clean fuels and carbon pricing. So the new…

The New York Times

Gas Piped Into Homes Contains Benzene and Other Risky Chemicals, Study Finds

By Elena Shao Photo: Brett Tryon 06/28/22

The natural gas delivered to homes contains low concentrations of several chemicals linked to cancer, a new study found. Researchers also found inconsistent levels of odorants — substances that give natural gas its characteristic “rotten…

Huffpost

The U.S. Is Addicted To Gas Heating. A New Bill May Make Going Electric The Easy Choice.

By Alexander C. Kaufman Photo: Leon Neal, Getty Images 05/25/22

When it’s cold outside, most American homes burn gas or fuel for warmth ― a big part of why buildings are the country’s fourth-largest source of climate-changing emissions. When it’s hot, an even bigger percentage…