Pennsylvania's East Bradford and Haverford townships unveiled 100% renewable energy pledges last week, bringing the total number of municipalities in the state pursuing such agendas to six, says the Sierra Club. The communities are aiming for 100% renewables by 2035.
Bee'ah, a UAE-based waste management company, will have a new headquarters in Sharjah, UAE, next year with a sustainable design marked by recycled concrete, aggregate materials and steel. The building's concrete dome is complete, and glass-fiber-reinforced concrete was selected for the facade's outer layer due to its lighter weight and carbon footprint.
Decisive action is needed for the European Palm Oil Alliance to meet its goal of 100% certified sustainable palm oil by 2020, according to EPOA Chair Frans Claassen. In 2017, 74% of the palm oil that entered Europe for food use was certified sustainable.
PepsiCo has launched an expanded grant opportunity for colleges and universities wishing to implement new sustainability initiatives. The company's Zero Impact Fund, which has awarded grants to 27 schools during the last two years, encourages environmental stewardship and community involvement as part of PepsiCo's Performance with Purpose agenda.
Wind is a homegrown energy source and a valuable economic driver in the US, says Philip Warburg, former president of the Conservation Law Foundation. Just as Kansas built wind farms on its prairie, he says Massachusetts and New England can also learn to be open-minded about integration and add projects where they have the smallest impact.
Orsted's purchase of Deepwater Wind won't hinder a planned project under development off the coast of Maryland, says Deepwater CEO Jeff Grybowski. "The new company is committed to building the Skipjack wind farm just as Deepwater Wind planned," he says.
Southern Power has secured a 12-year power purchase agreement with Royal Caribbean Cruises for a proposed 200-megawatt wind farm in Kansas, confirming plans to build the project. It will co-build the project with Renewable Energy Systems, likely beginning in the second quarter of next year.
MHI Vestas, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and Vestas are participating in a research project with the Danish wind industry to bring standardization to the turbine design and production process. "The industry needs to find common ground on future cost reduction," according to the Danish Wind Industry Association.
Selsam Innovations' US Windlabs has secured a patent from the US Patent and Trademark Office for a floating offshore wind turbine that features a single vertical tube and "spar buoy" top. The company says the technology is already in use in European territory.
PJM Interconnection has the time and resources to conduct its own review of grid reliability and should be able to do so without the government stepping in, CEO and President Andrew Ott told a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing Thursday. In the interim, Ott says he doesn't support a proposed bailout for aging nuclear and coal-burning power plants.