New Mexico Joins Push to Go Green

The Governor of New Mexico, Michelle Grisham, signed a ground breaking bill into effect called the Energy Transition Act (ETA) last Friday. The bill mainly states that the State should be supplying 100% of its electricity to residents through renewables by 2045. It pushes for 50% by 2030, 80% by 2040, and 100% by 2045. New Mexico is the third state to create a law that strives for a fully renewable energy grid behind California and Hawaii. Rob Sargent, senior director of Environment America’s Clean Energy program, said that by passing the ETA, New Mexico is “Setting a prime example for how states can take the mantle of leadership. As sea levels and global temperatures rise higher and higher, so does Americans’ desire to address climate change as quickly as possible. Given inaction at the federal level, states are primed to lead the transition from fossil fuels to 100 percent renewable energy."

New York Governor Presents Progressive Green Building Competition

Governor Andrew Cuomo created this “Buildings of Excellence” competition and it will have three rounds of providing $10 million with up to $1 million per project. The initiative aims to advance the design, construction, and operation of green buildings in the state. This is mainly a pilot to show how advanced green building design can be adopted into the New York State Energy Conservation and Construction Code. Governor Cuomo said, "The time for addressing climate change is now, and today we are doubling down on our commitment to lead the way with a revolutionary path toward carbon-free buildings. The development of low- to zero-carbon buildings will create healthier living spaces and communities for all New Yorkers, while driving down harmful emissions from one of our highest contributing sectors - our building stock - and pushing us forward on our path to carbon neutrality." With New Yorkers paying around $35 billion annually on electricity and heating this initiative will strive to reduce consumer energy bills while at the same time creating a healthier and more affordable New York.

Neighbors May Soon Help Power Each Other

The new energy paradigm beginning to rear its head is for residential renewable energy systems to sell excess energy they produce to their neighbors. Utility companies now buy excess residential energy for little or nothing so a new system is being born. Technology is reaching a certain point where residential renewable energy systems can interact with the grid in such a way that whenever there’s high demand, a shortage, or a spike it will be responded to in an effective way automatically. If the utility companies want to stay in business this technology needs to be implemented quickly because more and more households are simply going off the grid due to the increasing benefits.