ELECTRIFY EVERYTHING

New buildings in New York will soon be on a pathway toward zero carbon emissions, thanks to recent action by lawmakers in the state. The All-Electric Building Act, adopted as part of the Fiscal Year…

Following the recent ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on the all-electric construction policy from Berkeley, CA – the first passed in the U.S. – here are some key points for local government…

In this edition of Insight Weekly, we take a close look at the earnings forecasts for global utilities in the first quarter of 2023. Analysts expect few US multi-utilities to report year-over-year earnings growth as…

New York is on the cusp of becoming the first state in the nation to pass a law banning natural gas in most new buildings, according to a handshake agreement that Gov. Kathy Hochul (D)…

The United States still gets most of its energy by setting millions of tiny fires everywhere. Cars, trucks, homes and factories all burn fossil fuels in countless engines, furnaces and boilers, creating pollution that heats…

New York's Legislature could soon become the first in the country to ban natural gas in new buildings.

Last month, Eugene became the first city in Oregon to pass an ordinance requiring new residential buildings to be fossil fuel-free. But the policy may never go into effect — not if the natural gas…

Over the past decade, heat pumps have been steadily making their way into more American homes. There was a major milestone last year when they surpassed gas furnaces in annual sales by a wide margin.

This is a big deal, folks. It shows that an electrical appliance is WINNING the race against a fossil-fuel based counterpart. Every time a household chooses to electrify another aspect of their life, Saul Griffith…

In July 2019, elected officials in the Bay Area city, a national leader in progressive politics and environmental protection, voted to ban gas hookups in most new homes. That meant no gas furnaces, boilers or…

Sales of generators and home batteries are up as people look to protect themselves from power outages, which are becoming more common....

When the power went out at Nate Graham’s New Mexico home last year, his family huddled around a fireplace in the cold and dark. Even the gas furnace was out, with no electricity for the…

The video starts with a Maine radio show host dressed in a bright red jumpsuit walking through the snow to a stranger’s door and delighting her with an offer of free heating oil. “My name’s…

This is a big deal, folks. It shows that an electrical appliance is WINNING the race against a fossil-fuel based counterpart. Every time a household chooses to electrify another aspect of their life, Saul Griffith…

Many American consumers are now eligible to save thousands of dollars when they buy an electric car, heat pump, solar panels or energy-efficient appliances.

NRG Energy Inc. wants to have a bigger presence in customers’ homes, but first, the power company has some convincing to do. Houston-based NRG announced plans in December to buy Vivint Smart Home Inc. for…

Somehow, in a few short days, gas stoves have gone from a thing that some people cook with to, depending on your politics, either a child-poisoning death machine or a treasured piece of national patrimony.…

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is concerned by the findings of a new study: 13% of childhood asthma cases are caused by gas stoves.

Earlier this year, Congress passed the biggest climate bill in history — cloaked under the name the “Inflation Reduction Act.” But while economists say the bill may not reduce inflation very much, it could do…

In the US, about 13% of total CO2 emissions come from heating residential and commercial buildings. Because so many buildings rely on natural gas and heating oil, significant opportunity for reducing heating emissions lies with…

Earlier this year, Congress passed the biggest climate bill in history — cloaked under the name the “Inflation Reduction Act.” But while economists say the bill may not reduce inflation very much, it could do…

By acting now, state policymakers and utility regulators can put more consumers and communities on a path to long-term energy affordability and mitigate the impact of future energy price spikes.

LA City Hall had previously adopted a similar ordinance for all its municipal buildings in 2020 and passed a ban on gas appliances along with a mandate for emissions-free new constructions at the end of…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will propose a new rule to limit hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, in some products including refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pump equipment, the agency announced Friday. The proposed rule will be…

The White House announced that new and renovated federal buildings are getting off gas, with the intent to electrify 30% of all federal buildings by 2030. "As the country’s single largest energy consumer and building…

After decades of heating their homes with relatively cheap Russian natural gas, Germans are facing exorbitant prices for energy. The search is on for an alternative source of warmth that is climate-friendly and free from…

They’re the cheapest and most efficient way to handle both heating and cooling for your home, no matter where you live. They’re also better for the environment. In fact, most experts agree they’re one of…

Montgomery County, Maryland, home to more than a million residents, passed landmark legislation this week requiring new residential and commercial buildings to be all-electric—barring some exceptions—starting 2027. While advocates celebrated the significance of the legislation,…

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…

The growing SAFE Cities movement of local governments working to stop the expansion of all types of fossil fuel infrastructure. This includes building electrification, especially in new buildings, in the US and Canada.

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.

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…

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.

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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 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…

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…

Humanity’s existential crisis is straightforward. The world is getting richer, richer people use more energy, and the planet’s most popular sources of energy—such as coal, oil, and wood—are slowly cooking the biosphere. Saul Griffith, an…

Continuing last year’s worrisome trend, efforts to strip local communities of decision-making authority over the health impacts and cost of their future homes and buildings have been introduced in several state legislatures. If adopted, these…