Tag: microgrid

Facilities Are Hit Hard When Extreme Weather Disrupts Power

This winter, frigid temperatures, high winds, and frozen precipitation across the country triggered record blackouts for homes and businesses, disrupted travel plans, and even delayed the meticulously scheduled NFL playoffs. As extreme weather events grow in frequency and intensity, power outages are becoming more common. These disruptions lead to essential businesses shutting down and lost […]

FEMA Expands Disaster Relief Funding to Include Net-Zero Energy Projects

For the first time, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will fund net-zero energy projects through its Public Assistance grant program, which covers the rebuilding of schools, hospitals, fire stations, and other community infrastructure investments post-disaster. FEMA is also funding net-zero energy projects for its Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) and now offers incentives through its […]

Back to Basics: Defining Net Zero for Facilities

Back to Basics is an article series that highlights important, but possibly overlooked, information facilities management professionals should know. Most facilities professionals have heard the term “net zero buildings” before but perhaps don’t know exactly what it means or why they should convert their facilities to net zero. Commercial, educational, industrial, and nonprofit facilities should […]

4 Ways to Prepare Your Facilities for Fall

With summer coming to an end, it’s time for facilities managers not only to examine the inside, outside, and landscaping elements of their facilities but also to be prepared for power outages, which are more likely to happen as it gets colder. Whether it’s an office complex, college or hospital campus, recreational hub, transportation hub, […]

K-12 School Leaders Converge on D.C. for Clean Energy Symposium

More than 50 school leaders from 16 states recently traveled to Washington, D.C., for the first-ever Clean Energy Schools Symposium—a national meeting of school decision-makers who have flipped the switch to clean energy and are actively inspiring and supporting other schools across the country to do the same. National clean energy nonprofit Generation180 hosted the […]

Under Construction: Top Facility Projects of March 2023

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 […]

What’s Ahead for Building Tech Trends?

Honeywell recently released its predictions for emerging trends that will help shape building operations and technologies in 2023 and beyond. Top company experts revealed insights on opportunities to make buildings more sustainable, safer, and occupant focused. Honeywell’s predictions for 2023 include both ongoing and burgeoning trends: The Acceleration of the ‘Electrify Everything’ Movement  Communities across the […]

olar Panel Array, Parking Lot

Planning for No Power: Experts Provide a Look at Microgrid Solutions

What would you do if the power went out for 2 hours, 2 days, or even 2 weeks? This question was posed during a recent Facilities Management Now webinar, featuring Norman Campbell, Federal Team Manager of Go Electric, and Tony Mayfield, Senior Consultant and Managing Partner at On-Target Innovations. In the virtual forum session, titled […]

University, Utility Unveil Solar-Powered Microgrid in Sunshine State

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 […]