RMI Outlet
Plug Into New Ideas
Reality Check: Honest Assessments of Our Energy Future
At long last, scientists, governments, and significant elements of the business community are in agreement that we can build a low-carbon, sustainable, global energy economy. That was the finding of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which released its Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources last month, stating that 80 percent of global energy needs could come from renewable energy by 2050. The constraint in making this a reality is not technology, land area, or resources, but willpower. The IPCC found that what is required is the leadership to coordinate the needed policy measures.
Solutions Journal: Spring 2011—Plug-in Pioneer: Is Raleigh Ready for EVs?
Raleigh is the East Coast leader in Electric Vehicle (EV) readiness, and its journey is one every American city will have to follow if we are to meet President Obama’s goal of one million EVs on the road by 2015. So far the city of Raleigh has installed three EV charging stations, two in front of City Hall and one by the convention center that will become a pilot solar-charging station.
Solutions Journal: Spring 2011—RMI Guides Ford Dealer in Energy-Frugal Retrofit
We get comments every day from customers about how much nicer the new dealership is—and saving money and saving the environment at the same time is pretty cool,” says Brian Jarrett. Jarrett is co-owner of Jarrett-Gordon Ford Lincoln, Inc. in Winter Haven, Fla., the first Ford dealership to go through Ford’s Go Green energy efficiency retrofit program.
Solutions Journal: Spring 2011—The “Rebound Effect”: A Perennial Controversy Rises Again
There’s an old economic theory that becomes a bone of contention about once a decade. It goes like this: when energy efficiency rises, people and industry use more energy—a phenomenon called “rebound.” In an extreme form sometimes called “backfire,” rebound doesn’t just reduce but nullifies or reverses gains in efficiency.
The “Push and Pull” of Energy Modeling Demand
“How many LEED points can I get? Do I quality for a specific incentive?” To energy modelers, questions like these sound like a broken record. Yet properly used, energy modeling can provide information that optimizes a building’s energy consumption, reduces life cycle costs and even reduces first cost.
