Driven by student activism and less idealistic motivations for improving energy efficiency, college campuses across the Unites States are pioneering 'innovative approaches to rethinking energy infrastructure'.
"Over the past decade, colleges and universities across the country have become concerned about their environmental footprint, and today they are leading the way in developing innovative approaches to rethinking energy infrastructure," writes Sophie Quinton.
"In many cases, students have been the ones instigating these campus changes, pushing their administrators to make commitments to reduce fossil fuel emissions or to set a goal of becoming carbon neutral. For their part, schools are interested in finding energy savings and reaching greater efficiency. As climate change continues to alter energy needs and alternative fuel sources become more widely-accepted, towns and institutions may find themselves drawing lessons from the way college campuses are meeting their energy goals."
Quinton looks at three projects - the University of Iowa's biomass fuel project, the University of New Hampshire's Eco-Line, and the University of California, San Diego's campus microgrid - that demonstrate the types of cutting-edge technologies that may soon migrate to a town near you.
Read the full story: Could You Run Your City on Oats?
Energy Reliability on the Ballot in Texas
Texans will decide on November 7 whether to subsidize electricity generation to strengthen the power grid to prevent blackouts, but only with the construction of new natural gas power plants.
Brooklyn Program a Leader in 'Microgrid' Electricity Generation
About 50 property owners in the trendiest of New York boroughs have launched a fledgling solar microgrid—sometimes called distributed or peer-to-peer generation. Someday, such arrangements could put a huge dent in the utility industry.
The Battle Over the Microgrid
The "smart" grid powered by renewable energy sources is likely to be fundamentally different from the current electricity system in more ways than one. Some say it won't be as large-scale as it is now. That's not what utility companies want to hear.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority