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Utilities: Get used to neighborhoods that use zero energy
Utilities: Get used to neighborhoods that use zero energy
Dec 5, 2013
Quick Take: It used to be that new neighborhoods were good news for a utility. They required power, meaning more sales and more profits.
But going forward, new neighborhoods may produce as much power as they use, becoming "net zero energy districts." North America's largest such development is at the University of California, Davis, and just celebrated its first anniversary, as described below. Another well-known example is FortZED in Fort Collins, Colorado.
With projects like these two acting as proof points, we can expect more and more net zero subdivisions, office parks, industrial parks, campuses, etc. Does your utility have a plan in place for a world where new neighborhoods mean more costs (new wires, poles, transformers, etc.) without more sales? - By Jesse Berst
UC Davis West Village: Setting the standard
The University of California, Davis, West Village, the nation’s largest planned zero net energy community, racks up an impressive list of achievements in its initial year of review. The first formal analysis of West Village shows that even in its initial phases, it is well on the way to the ultimate goal of operating as a ZNE community. The report released today from UC Davis, and its partner West Village Community Partnership LLC, outlines major milestones including West Village producing 87 percent of the energy it consumed in a one-year period -- well in advance of the project’s full completion.
“West Village is what a sustainable energy future looks like for California and the rest of the world,” said Ralph Cavanagh, Energy Program co-director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Its commitment ...
Dec 5, 2013
Quick Take: It used to be that new neighborhoods were good news for a utility. They required power, meaning more sales and more profits.
But going forward, new neighborhoods may produce as much power as they use, becoming "net zero energy districts." North America's largest such development is at the University of California, Davis, and just celebrated its first anniversary, as described below. Another well-known example is FortZED in Fort Collins, Colorado.
With projects like these two acting as proof points, we can expect more and more net zero subdivisions, office parks, industrial parks, campuses, etc. Does your utility have a plan in place for a world where new neighborhoods mean more costs (new wires, poles, transformers, etc.) without more sales? - By Jesse Berst
UC Davis West Village: Setting the standard
The University of California, Davis, West Village, the nation’s largest planned zero net energy community, racks up an impressive list of achievements in its initial year of review. The first formal analysis of West Village shows that even in its initial phases, it is well on the way to the ultimate goal of operating as a ZNE community. The report released today from UC Davis, and its partner West Village Community Partnership LLC, outlines major milestones including West Village producing 87 percent of the energy it consumed in a one-year period -- well in advance of the project’s full completion.
“West Village is what a sustainable energy future looks like for California and the rest of the world,” said Ralph Cavanagh, Energy Program co-director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Its commitment ...
http://www.smartgridnews.com/artman/publish/Business_Business_Case/Utilities-Get-used-to-neighborhoods-that-use-zero-energy-6205.html#.UqCk3-InX5w