Renewable Energy

ENGIE NA and Holyoke Gas & Electric (HG&E) today announced plans for the largest utility-scale energy storage installation in Massachusetts. Green Charge, an ENGIE NA subsidiary, will operate the three-megawatt energy storage system at Mt. Tom Solar, which began operation in January of this year adjacent to the former Mt. Tom Power Station. The system will be used to optimize intermittent solar energy and reduce utility capacity costs for HG&E, the system’s customer, while reducing stress on the HG&E distribution system. This project will contribute to rate stabilization for HG&E customers over the next 20 years.

Think about the energy that you use each day. Utility-generated electricity, gasoline-fueled mobility, and heat from natural gas are probably the largest sources, and each is powered by fossil fuels. If you wanted to “cut the cord” on these energy needs, how could you possibly do it?

CMS Energy announced today that its subsidiary, CMS Enterprises, is purchasing Delta Solar, a 24-megawatt, two-part solar power project under construction that will provide enough energy to the Lansing Board of Water & Light to power 3,300 homes through a power purchase agreement.

We approach environmental responsibility from a holistic perspective grounded in life cycle thinking—looking carefully at raw material use, energy generation, manufacturing and the end of life of our products. We work across the supply chain to drive change within our spheres of influence.

U.S. Marine Corps and Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest leadership hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Sept. 28 celebrating the start of construction for an energy security microgrid at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar, in San Diego, California. Black & Veatch and Schneider Electric, in a joint venture, are providing design and construction support on the project.

All of GM’s Ohio and Indiana facilities – including the assembly plants that build the Chevrolet Cruze and Silverado and GMC Sierra light-duty pickup trucks – will meet 100 percent of their electricity needs through wind power. Once the turbines come online by the end of 2018, renewable energy will power 20 percent of GM’s global electricity use.

55% of clients at the Energy & Sustainability Perspectives Summit revealed lack of organizational alignment as the top factor preventing them from reaching their energy and sustainability goals

When Nick Schweitzer, senior brand manager at Hormel Foods, learned about a community solar garden that was going to be constructed near the plant where Hormel® Natural Choice® uncured bacon products are produced, he was all ears.

The company’s environmental sustainability team was all ears as well since they had set a goal to reduce non-renewable energy use by 10 percent by 2020.

Founded in 1837, Procter & Gamble holds some of the most well-recognized brands in the world. The company has remained a family favorite for everyday necessities like Charmin, Pampers, Tide, and Pantene, among many others products, since that time. Now, nearly 180 years later, P&G is moving full speed ahead into their current reality of business where sustainability is a major focus. On September 26, P&G and Constellation, a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation, opened a new biomass plant in Albany, Ga, a plant that will move the consumer goods giant closer to their goal of using 30 percent renewable energy in their U.S. operations by 2020.

Republic Services and renewable energy company Soltage today celebrated the activation of a 13.5 megawatt solar energy project constructed on three former landfill sites, or brownfields, in Massachusetts. Based on preliminary estimates, the project is expected to produce enough electricity to power 1,900 local households. When complete, the project will be comprised of 41,000 solar panels that will provide electricity for Massachusetts municipalities. These solar farms, located in East Bridgewater, Plainville and Randolph, are also expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 14,000 tons, which is the equivalent of removing the impact of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from almost 2,000 homes.