Ask the Expert: What is Decarb, Really?

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 11/15/2022 Zondits spoke with Gary Epstein of DNV who leads an initiative to assist utilities, businesses, and governmental entities with meeting their decarbonization goals. I am often hearing the terms decarb and decarbonize either in reference to the economy or buildings. But I am not clear on what it really means. … Read more

New Buildings Institute Introduces a Building Decarbonization Model Code

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 11/9/2022 Expanding its focus on advanced building energy codes, New Buildings Institute (NBI) has announced the release of a new model code with a focus on decarbonizing the U.S. residential and commercial building stocks. Model codes are intended to be used as templates for developing and adopting new building codes. Advanced … Read more

Is Spatial Analysis the Path to Energy Equity?

Lindsay Keane, Zondits guest, 11/4/2022 Lowering energy costs and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in hard-to-reach (HTR) communities are key goals of the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The bill includes $9 billion for consumer home energy rebate programs, $60 billion for environmental justice (EJ) initiatives in underserved communities, and consumer tax credits for … Read more

Get Schooled on the Viability of Two-Way Vehicle to Grid Energy Storage

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 11/1/2022 In the Greater Boston area, electric school buses are doing more than taking students to and from school. Energy stored in the buses’ batteries is transferred back to the grid during times of demand stress on the regional electric generation and distribution systems. In the town of Beverly, a Boston … Read more

And Now, Electric Flying Boats

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 10/28/2022 Zondits has posted numerous articles covering the transition of transportation from diesel and gasoline powered vehicles to hybrid and all-electric power. Trains, trucks, ferry boats, airplanes, motorcycles, and of course automobiles have all been featured. And now, we are able to report that an all-electric “flying boat” has been successfully … Read more

Zondits Interview: Actually, You Can Get There From Here

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 10/25/2022 Zondits speaks with a rural Mainer about his experiences with EV ownership. Richard Doughty is a recently retired professional engineer who specialized in energy efficiency and clean energy project development and assessment. Richard was previously featured in the annual Zondits April Fools issue when it was reported that he applied … Read more

States are the Laboratories of Clean Energy Policy

Angie Ziech-Malek, Zondits guest, 10/21/2022 With the recent enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Infrastructure Law that preceded it, the United States is about to embark on a large experiment with energy policy, funded by the federal government, and each state’s energy policy experiment will determine how these investments pay off. States are … Read more

EV History Part IV: 200 Years Later, Batteries Remain the Weak Link of EVs

Craig Farrand, Zondits guest, 10/19/2022 When Robert Anderson strapped a non-rechargeable battery and motor onto a carriage nearly 200 years ago (arguably driving the first EV) it also started a scientific frenzy to determine how to extend the life of batteries used for transportation. And here we are, two centuries later, and the frenzy continues … Read more

Technology Update: Electric Passenger Airplane Gets Off the Ground

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 10/17/2022 Late last March, Zondits reported that the all-electric passenger plane Eviation Aircraft Alice had completed engine testing and was being prepared for its first test flight. As often occurs with groundbreaking technology, there have been delays. But now Alice has been successfully test flown and Eviation Aircraft is moving forward … Read more

Battery Storage Facility to Replace Old Gas-Fired Power Station

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 10/13/2022 Wind energy is often criticized as being intermittent and unpredictable. Large-scale energy storage is just as often touted as the solution to that problem. According to a piece published on CNBC’s website, the British firm Centrica is teaming with US-based General Electric to replace an old decommissioned natural gas-fired power … Read more