July 25
Austin Energy Launches Solar Insights Tool for Residential Customers
Top consumer smart energy news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
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Austin Energy recently provided details on its new Solar Insights tool, which it said is “an innovative digital feature designed to enhance the experience of residential solar customers through the City of Austin utility customer portal.” Austin Energy solar customers can now track their solar production year over year, alongside their consumption at no additional cost.
Since the launch of energy waste reduction (EWR) programs in 2009 through 2024, energy savings from both gas and electric initiatives have totaled the annual output of 18 natural gas power plants, said Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest energy provider. While the utility is prepared to deliver safe, reliable and affordable power to customers across its region this summer, energy is a shared resource and how it’s used matters, the company said.
How do you reduce greenhouse gas emissions from one of the largest sources – buildings – without breaking the bank or the grid? To answer that question, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) turned to DNV to examine the benefits of heat pumps. While HVAC technologies have vastly improved in efficiency over time, the intervals at which people replace these systems aren’t that frequent, so it may take decades to upgrade a carbon-intensive but otherwise properly functioning HVAC system.
Avangrid has joined the Electric Power Research Institute’s (EPRI) Open Power AI Energy Consortium. The consortium is a global initiative that brings together utilities, researchers, and technology leaders to collaborate on the development of AI solutions across the energy industry. For its part, Avangrid will contribute to joint research projects, engage in peer working groups and help define best practices for AI governance in utility applications.
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Industry News
Rooftop solar costs way more in the U.S. than it does elsewhere in the world. That’s long been a headache for the sector to navigate. But now with Republicans in Congress killing off the decades-old tax credit for rooftop solar, it’s a life-or-death problem. So says Andrew Birch, a 25-year industry veteran who’s built a career on cutting solar projects’ “soft costs,” which make up roughly two-thirds of the price of a rooftop solar installation in the U.S. and consist of everything other than equipment costs.
School buses are the backbone of public transportation in the United States, with about 500,000 carrying half the nation’s children to and from school daily. In 2024, the number of those buses being converted to electric school buses (ESBs) grew to about 12,000 – or 2.5 percent of the total fleet – including those funded, ordered, delivered or in operation. Early adopters of ESBs in rural areas have identified five actions or insights that would have drastically improved their experience.
Have you been sitting on the sidelines, waiting to decarbonize your home and commute? It may be time to jump into action. The “Big, Beautiful Bill” that President Donald Trump signed on July 4 sets early expiration dates for a slew of federal tax credits that have made it easier for millions of Americans to switch to clean and typically cheaper-to-run electric appliances and EVs, make efficiency upgrades to their homes and put solar panels on their roofs.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has partnered with the Los Angeles Unified School District to provide over $100,000 towards their “HEROES for Zero Contest,” an initiative promoting energy conservation and education among Los Angeles youth. As part of the “HEROES for Zero” Contest, LAUSD instructed their schools on the optimal use of renewable energy and challenged LAUSD students to find ways to save energy and boost energy efficiency.
