Page 2 - Net Zero Cities News Today

Funding for clean-energy startups and innovators hasn’t yet reached the levels needed for Front Range cities to achieve net-zero status. Despite the creation of new grant programs, the emergence of Green Banks, creative fundraising methods by companies and institutional investors beginning to enter the market, much work still needs to be done. That was the message from the Funding Innovation panel at BizWest’s Net Zero Cities summit Wednesday morning, moderated by Quinn Antus, executive dir...

Four local electric suppliers believe that using self-contained micro-grids could be one way to hedge fears of power outages from winter storms and wildfires as efforts continue to decarbonize the power grid. The panel at BizWest’s Net Zero Cities virtual event on Tuesday included Justin Brant, the utility program co-director at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project; Darren Buck, director of power delivery at the Platte River Power Authority; Milton Geiger, energy resource director at the P...

As Front Range cities push to achieve net-zero goals, they’ll have to rely on new and emerging energy-storage technologies that could revolutionize the way energy is stored and used. That was the message Tuesday morning at the Energy Storage panel of BizWest’s Net Zero Cities event. The session, moderated by BizWest managing editor Ken Amundson, included discussions about the increasing proliferation of lithium ion batteries, the emergence of new technologies for hydrogen storage and practi...

As cities strive to improve their environmental sustainability, so too are they grappling with the nation’s shortfalls in the arena of social justice and racial equity. Often these issues are linked in the sense that communities of color and lower-income communities tend to live in areas most impacted by climate change, Urban Sustainability Directors Network program director Rich Freeh said Wednesday during a panel discussion at BizWest’s Net Zero Cities event.  Sustainability and equity w...

High-performance districts have the potential to provide a win-win for developers and the communities they build in as they offer opportunities for economies of scale, cost-savings and environmental benefits.  A high-performance district is a multi-building approach to energy management that aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across an entire campus rather than individual buildings, Form & Flow founder Tom Hootman said Wednesday during a panel discussion at BizWest’s Net Zero Cities e...

With the corporate sector responsible for 70% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, it stands to reason that the climate accords included in the Paris Agreement cannot be met unless the private sector steps up to do its part. The Paris Agreement, signed in 2016, sets a goal of limiting worldwide climate warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and to pursue a limit of no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). Companies are stepping up to help, even thou...

Colorado government officials and lawmakers have a lot on their plates during the 2021 legislative session — we are, after all, still in a global pandemic with devastating economic consequences — but leaders aren’t taking their eyes off the climate-change ball.  “Reducing our emissions is more than just a policy priority; it’s a moral imperative,” Gov. Jared Polis said Tuesday during an address at BizWest’s Net Zero Cities event. Initiatives making their way through the legislati...

Gov. Jared Polis will outline his renewable-energy policies during BizWest’s virtual Net Zero Cities event, scheduled for April 27-28. Polis has set a goal to have Colorado 100 percent powered by renewable energy by 2040. Polis will discuss his plans, including the costs, strategies for attainment and reasons behind the effort, during remarks April 27. Gov. Jared Polis Net Zero Cities will take place from 7:30 a.m. to 12:10 p.m., April 27, and from 7:30 a.m. to noon, April 28. Other sessions ...