Connecticut’s Renewable Energy Focus Gains Momentum

I’ve been spending my summer season in Connecticut. It’s a really completely different place to dwell than Florida, in ways that stretch past warmth and humidity and into views about fairness, truthful play, and climate pollution. That’s to not say that Connecticut’s renewable vitality focus prevents local weather deniers from expressing their ill-conceived ideas right here within the North. In actual fact, I proceed to be continually baffled once I hear a couple of however assured neighbors within the rural countryside query fossil gas’s direct explanation for our existential plight. It’s not acceptable to play ignorant, to blindly settle for rampant disinformation, to gloss over sheer science that includes an amazing physique of proof — the Earth is getting hotter. Amongst scientists there’s just about no debate on this scary truth of up to date life.

However Connecticut has lots of ahead momentum going in relation to vitality effectivity and reliability within the face of a quickly altering local weather and international transition to scrub vitality sources. When writing concerning the local weather disaster, I discover it’s all to straightforward for us who’ve a voice within the media to interact in false equivalence — to, in some way, really feel compelled to stability chronicles of emission mitigation successes with information tales about climate entrepreneurs who disparage local weather motion.

For this text, I’ve determined to be a saccharine optimist. I’m solely going to share tales of Connecticut’s local weather triumphs — or not less than of people who find themselves making a  distinction to contribute to a more healthy, cleaner world.

IRA funding makes it to CT: Whereas some states have declined federal climate funding, members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation are delighted that that the Connecticut Division of Vitality and Environmental Safety (CTDEEP) will obtain $3 million from the US Environmental Safety Company (EPA)’s Local weather Air pollution Discount Grants (CPRG) program. The grant program, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), will assist to develop and implement plans for lowering GHG emissions and different dangerous air air pollution and reinforce Connecticut’s renewable vitality focus.

Battery-electric buses are again! The Connecticut Division of Transportation (CTDOT) returned its transit battery-electric buses to service earlier this month after being out of service since July, 2022. The producer recalled the buses after a thermal drawback attributable to a design defect. The answer? Monitoring software program and battery thermal administration programs have been put in to appropriate the defect. CTDOT labored intently with CTtransit; New Flyer, the bus producer; and ABB, a charger producer.

The recall gave CTDOT the prospect to totally examine and street take a look at the electrical buses to make sure their system updates and enhancements have been as much as public transportation community wants. Bus operators and staff within the upkeep and charging models additionally obtained enhanced coaching and procedures throughout the down time.

“The return of those battery electrical buses is a part of Connecticut’s complete effort to enhance the standard of life in Connecticut by conserving our air clear,” CTDOT Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto mentioned. “These buses function in areas which are disproportionately burdened by air air pollution, and eradicating diesel emissions is important to the well being and well-being of all our residents. Along with having no emissions, these buses are quieter, present a smoother experience and have decrease upkeep prices than diesel automobiles.” The buses are labeled as zero-emission automobiles.

UConn/ UAlbany grant from the Heart for Climate Innovation and Sensible Vitality and Resilience: A brand new, state-of-the-art weather and climate facility led by researchers on the College of Connecticut and the College at Albany has at its core the search to safeguard the vitality {industry}. The Heart for Climate Innovation and Sensible Vitality and Resilience (WISER) goals to leverage the analysis and experience at UConn and UAlbany to create superior
weather- and climate-based options for the vitality {industry}, now and sooner or later. WISER’s analysis route will give attention to renewable vitality (photo voltaic, hydro, and wind), energy outage administration, electrical grid resilience introduced on by excessive climate, and methods local weather change impacts energy producers and energy distributors.

“We envision WISER to change into a number one vitality industry-academia partnership, advancing analysis and cutting-edge applied sciences to repeatedly enhance energy grid effectivity and reliability within the face of a altering local weather and transition to scrub vitality,” says Manos Anagnostou, a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and Eversource Vitality endowed chair in environmental engineering at UConn. WISER additionally will recruit graduate and undergraduate college students from underrepresented teams to extend minority participation in science and engineering and particularly interdisciplinary collaborations and publicity to industry-academia partnerships.

The brand new middle shall be supported by a $750,000 NSF grant for every establishment and a 5-year, $3.7 million {industry} partnership membership price. The NSF additionally awarded WISER with a $20,000 grant in 2022 that was used to host a WISER planning assembly at UAlbany with vitality {industry} executives. UConn has different College Cooperative Analysis Facilities funded by the Nationwide Science Basis: the Heart for Novel Excessive Voltage/Temperature Supplies and Buildings, the Heart for {Hardware} and Embedded System Safety and Belief, and the Heart for Science of Heterogeneous Additive Printing of 3D Supplies.

New constructing codes will promote vitality effectivity: As a result of dependable electrical energy entry for residents of multifamily inexpensive housing throughout grid outages is crucial, the US Division of Vitality Constructing Vitality Know-how Workplace has chosen the Local weather Resilient Vitality Code undertaking to obtain $1 million in funding assist. The aim of the Local weather Resilient Vitality Code undertaking is to develop and advance the implementation of stretch building codes to incorporate the installations of resilient vitality programs, together with photo voltaic, battery storage, and environment friendly heating and cooling, to energy important companies for inexpensive housing residents throughout grid outages.

The event and implementation of those codes in Connecticut will set up greatest practices and create a template for different states and native governments to boost local weather resilience and cut back vitality burdens in environmental justice communities by establishing a roadmap for multifamily inexpensive properties to undertake vitality resilient applied sciences.

Government actions to cut back carbon emissions: Connecticut’s Government Order No. 21-3 requires 23 actions, supporting 30+ suggestions proposed by the GC3 and directs State govt department state companies to take important actions inside their authority to cut back carbon emissions. In the event you’d prefer to see the spectrum of plans, click here.

I do not like paywalls. You do not like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Right here at CleanTechnica, we carried out a restricted paywall for some time, however it at all times felt incorrect — and it was at all times powerful to determine what we must always put behind there. In concept, your most unique and greatest content material goes behind a paywall. However then fewer folks learn it! We simply don’t love paywalls, and so we have determined to ditch ours.

Sadly, the media enterprise remains to be a tricky, cut-throat enterprise with tiny margins. It is a unending Olympic problem to remain above water and even maybe — gasp — develop. So …