April 28
EV Rate Designs May Be Missing the Mark
Top consumer smart energy news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
Member News
Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory looked at more than 215 electric utility EV charging rates in 37 states and the District of Columbia and offered a handful of conclusions about those rates’ objectives and effectiveness. The research addressed the “critical role” that rate design can play in EV adoption and also suggested near-term considerations for regulators and policymakers.
Georgia Power announced last Friday it would provide $5 million to the University of Georgia to further the field of electric mobility. The gift will create scholarships, support research and build partnerships across the state to further UGA’s goal of becoming a leader in e-mobility. Georgia Power President, Chairman and CEO Kim Greene announced the gift at the second annual Electric Mobility Summit.
Washington State’s Snohomish County PUD on April 22 held a successful first energy block party, which featured a wide variety of activities for attendees to experience. Among other things, energy block party participants were given the opportunity to learn more about electric vehicles and bicycles, watch an electrical safety demonstration and get a hands-on look at energy-saving thermostat models.
ComEd and Summit Ridge Energy recently completed three community solar projects in Streator, Illinois. ComEd has now completed 80 community solar projects in their northern Illinois service region. The three projects, which occupy about 38 acres along North 14th Road in Streator, generate approximately six megawatts of clean energy to provide energy for between 1,000 and 1,200 average homes.
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Industry News
With interest in home electrification surging across the U.S., there’s a clear market for companies that can help consumers manage the tricky task of ditching fossil fuels. That’s why smart electric panel startup Span is looking to move beyond its roots as a tool for managing rooftop solar to become more of a “Swiss Army knife” for home electrification.
Health and safety go hand-in-hand with energy efficiency due to the interactive nature of systems and components within a building. In implementing energy efficiency equitably, program implementers must consider support not just for efficiency measures but for health and safety repairs as well – as the customers with the greatest energy burden are also the ones most likely to face pre-existing electrical, indoor air quality or other health and safety risks.
FPL executives have literally doubled down on their plans to add solar capacity in the coming decade and are now proposing to build nearly 20,000 MW of projects through 2032. In its recently filed 10-year site plan, FPL leaders have proposed adding 19,966 MW of solar generation across the Sunshine State they say will lower fuel risk for the company’s customers.
Airbnb has a new program to help hosts slash carbon pollution by offering them cash rebates to weatherize and electrify their vacation-rental homes – available, for now, in Massachusetts. While Airbnb successfully launched similar programs in the U.K. and France in 2022 – with enthusiastic responses from thousands of hosts, according to the company – this is the first of its kind in the U.S.
