In the U.S., California leads the way in installed geothermal capacity with 2732.2 megawatts, and gets $87.5 million per year in externality benefits. Nevada comes in second with 517.5 megawatts, and $29.1 million in annual externality benefits.

Geothermal plants have a lower average life cycle emission rate than other power sources, making it come ahead of coal, natural gas, and nuclear plants.

Source: Green Tech Media

As it has for the last five years, LED continues to impress with its innovation. In fact, many vendors have produced LEDs that come in warmer temperatures (2700K and 3000K). Lighting control for digital LEDs was also showcased.

“This year, a noticeable number of lamps and fixtures didn’t look like they had LEDs inside. Part of this is a result of LED performance increases, which now allow manufacturers to add glare-reducing diffusers to cover the point source chips.”

What does this mean for businesses? LED lighting is quickly becoming the same color and shape of existing fixtures so you won’t be able to tell the difference. One of the only distinctions between efficient and outdated lighting is a smaller utility bill.

Source: Green Tech Media

With the price of natural gas at a low, companies with larger fleets are looking to take advantage. In fact, the United Parcel Service (UPS) announced its plans to expand its current 112 natural gas vehicles to about 800 to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the end of 2014.

Like most companies, UPS still has a long way to go in the conversion, but are “benefiting from incentives provided by various states and the federal government, which offer tax credits and grants for installing natural gas fuel stations and using vehicles fueled by natural gas.”

The federal Energy Information Administration last year projected that if enough LNG filling stations were built, sales of heavy-duty natural gas vehicles could increase to 275,000 in 2034. In April, Cummins, a leading engine manufacturer, began shipping big new engines that make long runs on natural gas possible. In fact, the move to natural gas could cut the country’s oil import bill.

With about eight million heavy and medium-weight trucks consuming three million barrels of oil a day, that is nearly 15 percent of the total national daily consumption.

The natural gas boom has produced a large amount of inexpensive fuel that burns cleaner, and makes meeting emission standards easier.

Read more from the New York Times.

More than 3,000 schools, businesses, and government buildings competed in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) competition to see which could reduce its energy use the most in one year.

Combined, this year’s competitors cut their energy costs by more than $50 million and saved more than three billion kBtus of energy. Eighty-nine buildings in the competition saw a 20 percent or greater reduction.

Competitors tracked their buildings’ monthly energy consumption using EPA’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager, an online energy tracking tool.

Source: Energy Manager Today

The U.S. ranks first among 21 countries most actively using the tax code to influence sustainable corporate activity.

According to KPMG’s first Green Tax Index, the U.S. ranks #1 among 21 countries most actively using the tax code to influence sustainable corporate activity. That reflects the country’s federal tax incentives for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and green buildings, and results in strong growth for the U.S. renewable sector.

“The Green Tax Index gives companies insight into how countries are using taxes to influence corporate sustainability.” It can also help decision makers allocate budgets, evaluate global investments around the world, and enhance the return on their green initiatives.

The index identified more than 200 individual tax incentives relevant to corporate sustainability. At least 30 have been introduced since January 2011.

According to the Green Tax Index, the U.S. tax code “provides a range of tax credits, including a production tax credit on renewable energy and tax incentives construction of efficient buildings.

Other top ranking countries include Japan, United Kingdom, France, and South Korea.

Read more about the index at Environmental Leader.

The KS Gas Service outlet in Overland Park has been improved to fill more vehicles faster, and is looking to add more filling stations.

Clean Energy Fuels, which owns and operates natural-gas stations across the country, are nearing a deal with officials to open a filling station in Kansas City. The station would “provide compressed natural gas to city-owned vehicles as well as to other fleets and the public.”

Natural gas is catching on in the U.S. but has much room for improvement. There are about 120,000 natural gas vehicles on American roads, compared with 15.5 million worldwide. The ample amount of domestic natural gas from shale could reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil.

Read more about the project from the Kansas City Star.

The Town of Hempstead in New York is a great blueprint for a renewable energy park that features solar energy, and electric car charging stations.

Renewable energy parks are a new concept, but are at the forefront of discussions lately. A renewable energy park is “an area used and planned for the purpose of clean energy development, like wind and solar generation.”

This revolving concept provides a source of reliable, locally-produced clean energy, contributes to eco-tourism, and is an educational resource to local schools, universities, and business groups. Energy generation sources can include solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and hydrogen generation to incorporate an assortment of technologies and purposes.

There are grant opportunities and utility incentives for communities looking to develop a renewable energy park. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) is a great example of federally-funded programs that provide assistance in energy park development.

A recent Department of Energy webinar showcased the Town of Hempstead, New York and its renewable energy park in Point Lookout, NY. The energy park features several innovative demonstration projects, various solar photovoltaic technologies, electric charging stations, and an off-grid aquaculture facility.

The town received $4.5 millin from the EECBG to implement projects including lighting and HVAC retrofits, vehicle fleet improvements, metering data acquisition system, and public outreach efforts.

The town has lowered its carbon footprint, and brought major energy savings to the town’s facilities. Their clean energy initiative and energy park is a great blueprint for other communities developing renewable energy parks, or implementing locally-produced clean energy.

Source: Energy Manager Today

Charlie Szoradi, CEO of Independence LED, explains how LED leapfrogging is “jumping to the end-game and retrofitting with LEDs, rather than repeatedly paying for the labor of installing slightly better fluorescents.”

Rolling retrofits are another approach where building owners simply replace burnt-out lights with LEDs in order to avoid waiting for a system-wide RFP.

Three factors to consider maximizing the return on investment of LEDs are run time, inefficiency of existing lights, and cost of electricity. Run time refers to how long lights are on, and the inefficiency of existing lights add to a higher electricity cost. “If a building is high on all of these factors, it’s the perfect application scenario for LEDs,” says Szoradi.

What are some other benefits and factors that come into play when considering LEDs? Share your comments below.

Source: Energy Manager Today

In some offices, solar energy reduces or eliminates high electric bills every month. And in businesses where the bottom line matters, this can amount to large savings. It is similar to paying for future energy saving years down the line by investing in solar panels or a system for your business.

Government incentives and the low costs of solar products are another reason why it is a good time to think about converting. When you get money back or some money from the government, this is a return on your investment. Solar systems, once installed, require little maintenance so you save on this aspect too. This is especially true on panels and systems that do not use batteries. Many solar panels carry 25-year or more warranties. You will use less energy heating the business, thus again saving money.

Many customers and people in the community support green energy so converting can have good results on your business image. This means it can attract new customers and provide good employee relations. Installations are sometimes expensive and cost reduction is not always seen immediately. So when converting do so to support a clean environment and because you believe in a better energy source. Sometimes it is part of a long range goal that requires patience. In some cases, businesses and corporations can get a 30 percent tax credit on purchases of a system.

Sometimes installing solar energy is for saving in the years ahead. Businesses often install solar energy for different reasons, but the top ones include supporting clean energy. The second is again saving money and good community relations. This energy can produce electricity without greenhouse gas emissions. These gases pollute the environment and the air we breathe.

Solar systems use a clean energy source, the sun. This energy is free to those that install solar energy systems. It does not require ordering or using raw materials like gas, oil, and coal for heat and other uses. This produces a self-reliant business not really dependent on suppliers and networks. It has some limits because some areas have more sunlight than others.

Often with solar energy you can go on or off the grid. This means that you can remain connected to a utility company or not be. When not connected, you rely solely on the solar energy system you have installed. Off the grid systems are often used in rural areas and are beneficial in these locations.

Using solar energy does create jobs and a new source for revenue. This in turns helps the community overall in a positive way. These are some of the many reasons businesses should switch to solar energy.

This is a guest post by Liz Nelson from WhiteFence.com. She is a freelance writer and blogger from Houston. Questions and comments can be sent to liznelson17@gmail.com.