This week, our CEO Emily Reichert spoke on a panel about the importance of business advocacy in advancing clean energy policy at GreenBiz 18!

In other clean tech news, corporations continue to invest in renewable energy projects, businesses announce decisions to be powered entirely by renewables, and renewable energy continues to beat out traditional energy on a capacity level.

What news have you been reading this week? Share with us @GreentownLabs!

 

GreenBiz – Why low-carbon advocates large and small should speak up

• Leaders from Greentown Labs, Lyft, and CleanCapital gathered to discuss the importance of business advocacy  in advancing clean energy policy. Emily Reichert relayed how helping clean tech startups to scale their products is essential for the advancement of a more sustainable planet.

‘”In clean tech, there is often a gap. A gap between that very early-stage idea coming out of a university lab, and the take-up of that product or idea by a large corporation who is going to be able to take that innovation and scale it with their resources,’ said Emily Reichert, CEO of Greentown Labs.”‘

 

Climate Action – AT&T signs huge renewable energy purchase agreement

• AT&T announced an agreement to purchase 520 megawatts of renewable energy in the form of wind power projects in Texas and Oklahoma. The power will be equivalent to providing electricity to 250,000 homes, and is being marked as one of the largest corporate agreements to date.

“Many companies are focused on their own carbon footprint but we believe our industry can do more. We’ve been working for a long time to ensure our wind projects deliver for both our business and the environment. We will continue to explore renewable energy solutions to help create a better, more sustainable world.”

 

Bloomberg New Energy Finance – The Cost of Crypto Is Turning Miners Towards Green Power

• Renewable energy is becoming the popular source for cryptocurrency mining as the industry continues to seek more and more power. Cheap electricity is miners primary concern, and companies are settling wherever it can be found in abundance with minimal carbon footprint.

“The price of electricity mostly drives where mining is taking place,’ said Christian Catalini, who founded the Cryptoeconomics Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology outside of Boston. ‘If the price of electricity increases in one location, mining will likely just move somewhere else.”’

 

Clean Technica – New US Renewable Energy Capacity Beats Natural Gas For Fourth Year Running, Renewables Now Account For Over 20%

• US renewable energy capacity has surpassed that of natural gas once again, accounting for half of all new capacity additions.

“Over the past five years, renewable energy generating capacity has increased across the board in the United States. On top of solar’s 7.77% increase, wind energy grew by 53.88%, biomass by 11.20%, geothermal by 3.51%, and hydropower by 2.79%.”

 

EV Obsession – BP Putting $5 Million Into EV Charging Firm Freewire

• BP has announced plans to provide $5 million in funding for the EV company Freewire, which builds EV charging stations on wheels. The company plans to use the money to build charging stations throughout the UK and Europe.

“The expected rapid growth in the use of electric vehicles in the coming decades is threatening oil companies’ business model as demand for some road fuels could plateau as early as the late 2020s.”

 

Greentech Media – Tesla’s Latest South Australia Battery Project to Rival the Capacity of a Coal Plant

• Tesla was granted a deal to install solar panels and batteries in 50,000 South Australian homes throughout the next five years. The solar panels would produce electricity for the homes, and any excess would be sent out to the grid, acting like a giant virtual power-plant.

“At key moments, the virtual power plant could provide as much capacity as a large gas turbine or coal power plant.”

 

Climate Action – First US ski resort to operate on 100 percent renewable energy

• Lake Tahoe Ski resorts will be the first to operate solely on renewable energy in an effort to operate more economically and sustainably, as carbon emissions threaten the future of the ski resorts.

“After it meets 100 percent of its energy needs, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows expects to halve its carbon footprint. More specifically, its annual carbon emissions will reduce from 13,078 to approximately 6,682 metric tonnes- a decrease of 49 percent generating carbon savings equivalent to the electric use of 957 homes.”