Category: Energy (Page 4 of 14)

Financing Energy Efficiency for Municipal Electric Utility Customers in North Carolina

June 9, 2016 / David Tucker

Here at the EFC, we are always looking for ways to support the sustainable financing of energy efficiency for communities around the country, including in our home state of North Carolina. In the Old North State, electricity customers are generally served by one of three kinds of utilities: Investor-owned utilities (IOU’s), co-operative utilities (co-ops), and municipal electrical utilities (munis). As part of the EFC’s energy and sustainability financing programs, we are now working on the Rural Community Energy and Economic Capacity Building Program, funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI), to research and develop ways to help electricity customers in three small towns in northeastern North Carolina to have greater access to energy efficiency (EE) financing alternatives. Two of these three towns have their own municipal electric utilities.

This brings us to the key questions of this blog post: What are utilities already doing in North Carolina to promote and finance EE for their customers? What other alternatives exist? And why does this matter in the first place?

More Federal Funding Available to Grow Clean Energy Small Businesses

May 23, 2016 / Glenn Barnes

Back in September, the School of Government’s Community and Economic Development in North Carolina and Beyond blog highlighted a new program from US EPA to work with small businesses nationwide to develop and commercialize technologies that tackle critical environmental problems: the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. Now the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has launched its own program to assist small businesses, the Small Business Vouchers (SBV) pilot program. The Small Business Vouchers program links small businesses who promote clean energy technology with the DOE National Laboratories.

Four Steps of Effective Project Management

May 5, 2016 / Francine Stefan

As the Assistant Program Manager at the UNC Environmental Finance Center (EFC), I work ‘behind the scenes’ on internal projects related to the every day management of our center. In my role facilitating organizational development at the EFC, I recently spent time researching project management best practices. At the EFC, we help communities design, implement, and finance sustainable environmental projects and programs, and not surprisingly, strong project management structure is often a critical component of any sustainable program. While some of this research was specific to the EFC, many of the lessons I discovered are broadly applicable, whether you’re working for a small water utility or a statewide initiative. Through this post, I would like to share four easy steps to streamlined project management for any size project.

SunEdison Falls. Yieldcos Rise.

April 26, 2016 / Jessica Robinson

In May 2015, SunEdison was the largest renewable energy developer in the world. The solar and wind company is headquartered in California, with projects worldwide. Now, almost a year later, the company’s stock price has plummeted from $30 per share in May 2015 to about $0.22 per share. The company recently declared bankruptcy on Thursday April 21. What caused this dramatic fall?

Why (and How) one North Carolina School is Going Solar

February 19, 2016 / Noel Myers

As a society, we expect a lot from our schools. In addition to teaching basic skills, we hope our educational institutions will prepare students to be 21^st century leaders. Part of preparing future leaders includes teaching students about environmental topics and helping them develop tools to understand and address environmental challenges.

One environmental topic that many schools are now trying to incorporate into their curricula is energy (in particular the role of energy efficiency and renewable energy), but these can be tough ideas to teach. Energy brings together complex concepts, from the science of electricity to broader questions of how our energy use impacts the environment. In the face of this challenge, schools have a unique opportunity to educate through real-world application of concepts and hands on projects. Schools are in a unique position to become public leaders in taking advantage of new improvements in technology and growing renewable energy markets. Schools have predictable electrical consumption, teachers who are able to take advantage of new educational tools, and generally have enough real estate to install new energy systems.

Category: Energy (Page 4 of 14)

Financing Energy Efficiency for Municipal Electric Utility Customers in North Carolina

More Federal Funding Available to Grow Clean Energy Small Businesses

Four Steps of Effective Project Management

SunEdison Falls. Yieldcos Rise.

Why (and How) one North Carolina School is Going Solar

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