Energy Efficiency Markets Podcast

The US Navy wants to show off its energy efficiency efforts--and solicit ideas for new ways to save energy. It's doing all that with a new app. Rear Admiral Kevin Slates, director of energy and environmental readiness, Chief of Naval Operations Staff, describes the app and the efficiency efforts.

Frozen water has been used in the past for commercial energy storage to reduce cooling loads. However, a new product from Ice Energy allows for residential energy storage, which provides many benefits in areas with high cooling loads. James White, owner of Ice Energy, explains the benefits of energy storage for residential customers.

How is NV Energy generating new electricity sales by promoting the use of EVs? And what economic benefits are the company’s customers reaping? In this podcast, Mike Salisbury, transportation program associate with Southwest Energy Efficiency Project describes what the company is doing right–and what’s needed from states to boost EV use.

In response to requests from smart grid companies and homeowners who want to save energy, the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association wants to make homeowner data available from utilities. Listen to the podcast with Betsy McCorkle, Director of Government Affairs, to learn how the organization is working to make this happen.

SWSX Eco, which takes place Oct. 6-8, provides opportunities for energy efficiency companies to gain exposure to investors, utilities, and others. Chris Sonnier, producer of SXSW Eco, discusses efficiency trends that will be addressed at the conference and describes opportunities, especially for software companies.

Craig Wilkins, chairman and founder of ViZn Energy Systems, which produces large-scale energy storage technology and just won an award from Frost & Sullivan, identifies the top challenges to bringing more energy storage online. He also discusses the top challenges for microgrid developers: integration and standardization.

David Chiesa, director of commercial and industrial and micro grid market segments for S & C Electric Co., says that the military is on the leading edge of using microgrids to provide reliable power, but it's a big challenge to integrate the new technologies with the old grid.

Dr. Ryan Wartena, chief executive officer and founder of Growing Energy Labs, Inc. (GELI), which recently won an innovation award from Energy Storage North America, in this podcast identifies the challenges to integrating energy storage, especially in California. He discusses some solutions–and the many benefits to getting more energy storage online.

Efficiency standards are the most cost-effective way to save money, says Andrew deLaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project. While AHRI says the government is moving too quickly to implement standards, deLaski says, if anything, the process is too slow and explains how it works.

Smart meters can give--and are giving--criminals a route into people's homes, says Tom Kellermann, chief cybersecurity officer at Trend Micro. While the frequency of incidents in small now, it's expected to increase. He explains in this podcast what needs to be done to prevent the problem.

Maglev Energy, in partnership with University of Central Florida researchers, has developed a technology that will reduce fossil fuel use in commercial trucks, potentially saving fleet owners more than $2 million a year and reducing carbon emissions. In this podcast, Jon Harms, president and CEO of Maglev, explains the technology.

Fuel cells provide a number of benefits in microgrid and off-grid applications in developing countries, for the military, and after disasters such as hurricanes. In this podcast, Chris D'Couto, president and CEO, Neah Power Systems, describes the many applications and their benefits.

Schneider Electric has teamed up with Pepco to take advantage of the Green Button Connect My Data program, which stems from the DOE's request to utilities to make available utility data to encourage innovation by third parties. While some utilities have not yet responded to the DOE request, Pepco is enthusiastically opening up its data in this project. Paul Hamilton, vice president, government relations, Schneider Electric, and Greg Thompson, manager, smart grid offers at Schneider Electric, explain in this podcast interview.

With PV costs dropping, storage costs dropping, and the price of serving remote locations using diesel increasing, the market for solar plus storage is increasing. Paul Bundschuh, president and chief commercial officer of Ideal Power discusses this trend and explains why his company's latest product makes solar plus storage even more attractive.

An innovative green finance program from the state of Hawaii should become a national model, says Cisco DeVries, CEO of Renewable Funding, which was recently awarded a contract to develop and manage the program. Listen to this podcast to learn about the program and its many benefits in Hawaii, where electricity prices are the highest in the nation.