Despite the name, microgrids are a big deal. In fact, microgrids are a hot topic of conversation lately because of the crucial role they play in business continuity and resiliency planning. Thanks to a handful of unpredictable weather events, a wide variety of stakeholders are turning to microgrids to keep power flowing when natural disasters or catastrophic grid failures disrupt the utility grid’s normal operations.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas was established in 1890 and today serves an area of over 7,500 square miles across Dallas, Collin, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro, and Rockwall Counties. The diocese operates 69 parishes, 2 seminaries, 3 high schools and 26 elementary schools. The Diocese of Dallas is one of the fastest growing dioceses in the United States, whose parishes and five missions serve approximately 1.2 million Catholics and a larger North Texas community of more than four million people.

Since the dawn of electricity deregulation, most commercial and industrial clients have relied on brokers and sales reps as their primary source of education and strategy development. Clients meet with a different set of sales people to discuss procurement, engineering, demand-side management, sustainability, and resiliency, leading to a fractured decision-making process and piecemeal strategies that lack depth, diversity, harmony, and foresight. When energy prices are falling, the weather is following normal patterns, and suppliers are offering low bids in a race to the bottom, any sales rep or broker running a simple procurement process can appear to be adding value to your business.

NEW YORK - February 3, 2021

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT) today added to its industry leadership in sustainability with the purchase of renewable wind electricity for its entire commercial portfolio. A new three-year contract with Green Mountain Energy makes ESRT the nation’s largest 100% user of green power in real estate.

On Thursday, January 28th, businesses from across New York will come together to discuss the future of Green Hydrogen and its potential as a clean energy solution.

New York State continues to lead the nation as the center of the transition to a zero-emissions energy system. While electrification, executed in tandem with a significant expansion of renewable energy resources, has the potential to drastically reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, certain sectors of the economy may not be able to fully electrify. These more challenging sectors include manufacturing, heavy transportation, and long duration energy storage.

In recent conversations with clients and suppliers, we have noticed the Renewable Energy Credit (REC) has been viewed with some degree of disdain and ridicule. Some of the negative impressions associated with RECs are justified. About a decade ago, the energy industry went through an era of “greenwashing” where many companies made dubious environmental claims, and RECs certainly played a role in some of those cases^[1].

It’s got Jim Cramer saying it’s “sexy” and natural gas companies betting their futures on it. What are we talking about? Green hydrogen (GH2). And no, GH2 isn’t just hydrogen by another name, it’s hydrogen produced by renewable energy and there are several important reasons why its trending today.  

COVID-19 has changed our lives in so many ways. At 5, we transitioned to remote working on March 16th as lockdowns were imposed in the states where we live. One positive that came from this transition is that fewer cars are on the road. The result is a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. The 5 Planeteers, our internal sustainability team, wanted to highlight the environmental impacts of this reduction and calculated the overall carbon emissions that our team has saved by telecommuting since mid-March.

Even though we are spending more time at home these days, which means less commuting and less pollution, each of us continues to leave an environmental footprint. Consider these 5 steps you can take to reduce your environmental footprint today:

Moorestown, NJ - May 28, 2020

McLean Packaging, a turnkey provider of rigid set boxes, folding cartons, corrugated displays and thermoformed packaging solutions with emphasis on the beauty and personal care sectors, has contracted with national energy advisory firm 5 and ENGIE Resources, LLC on a five-year energy agreement that supports the development of renewables. The deal supports McLean’s zero carbon transition and sustainability goals which include sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewable resources.