Practical Facilities Tips, News & Advice.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the first round of selectees for the Renew America’s Schools grant program, a competitive award that will support the implementation of energy improvements in public K-12 schools across the country. Following “unprecedented” demand for the funding, the DOE chose 24 Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in 22 states to share […]
The sprawling campus of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is dotted with buildings dedicated to the many sciences needed to power the country’s push toward clean energy. Researchers inside one building explore the dynamics of harnessing the sun for energy. Those in another are determining the best ways to convert […]
For many people, the term “cholesterol” is associated with serious health issues such as heart problems, clogging of the arteries, and stroke. But doctors will tell you that not all cholesterol is created equal. HDL, high-density lipoprotein, is considered by doctors today to be “good” cholesterol, while LDL, low-density lipoprotein, is “bad.” It took doctors […]
Facilities Management Advisor’s “Under Construction” series highlights some of the latest, most interesting facility project announcements every month. U.S. Solar Manufacturing Boom In order for companies to achieve their ESG goals and states and utilities to meet clean energy mandates, it’s going to require a lot of solar panels, among other solutions. However, with relatively […]
City officials have announced completion of a $2.4 million project to install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems atop six New York City Fire Department (FDNY) firehouses in Queens and Brooklyn. In addition to generating emissions-free energy, these systems will use battery storage to ensure that the firehouses remain operational during blackouts, brownouts, or storms if electric […]
As climate change progresses, we can expect storms to become more frequent and more intense. Already, coastal communities are experiencing the devastating effects of severe hurricanes and tropical storms, while midwestern communities are encountering massive destruction from tornadoes and hail. As storms only continue to worsen, ensuring our facilities are designed and built to withstand catastrophic […]
The Biden administration has taken an important step forward to decarbonize all U.S. federal facilities, with two major agencies launching a request for information (RFI) to help meet the clean energy goal. Issued by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), the RFI aims to gather market information and […]
Distributed energy resources (DER), including electric vehicle (EV) chargers, rooftop solar PV, and battery energy storage, are rapidly expanding in commercial buildings, according to a report from Guidehouse Insights. The report forecasts global spending on DER in commercial buildings to reach $17.6 billionin 2021, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.1% to […]
Florida International University (FIU) and Florida Power & Light Co. (FPL) have unveiled a solar-powered energy microgrid—the latest project to emerge from a decades-long partnership between the university and the utility. In the event of an outage due to severe weather, the FIU-FPL microgrid is capable of supplying backup power to FIU’s engineering center for approximately 24 hours […]