Renewable Energy to the Rescue as Texas Records Incredibly High Heat and Energy Demand
Renewables are slowly but surely gaining ground more recently in Texas as the city depends heavily on wind and solar power to meet the current high energy demand. Texans crank on the air conditioning this week amid an unusually early heat wave, setting new records for electricity demand in the state, which surpassed 75 gigawatts on Sunday and smashed the 2019 record. CNN reports that Texas grid operator ERCOT projects it could approach that peak again on Tuesday.
However, unlike previous extreme weather events in Texas, which led to deadly blackouts, the grid is holding up remarkably well this week. Several experts told CNN that it's owed in large part to solid performances from wind and solar, which generated 27 gigawatts of electricity during Sunday's peak demand -- close to 40% of the total needed.
Texas is, by rhetoric, anti-renewables. But frankly, renewables are bailing us out,
said Michael Webber, an energy expert and professor at the University of Texas at Austin. They're rocking. That really spares us a lot of heartache and a lot of money.
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Durham Region Officially Launches Durham Greener Homes, Partners with Windfall Centre
On Thursday, April 28, 2022, Durham Region unveiled the Durham Greener Homes at a launch event at Durham College, Whitby Campus. Durham Greener Homes is a home retrofit service that will empower Durham Region residents to undertake home energy renovations. Durham Region has partnered with Windfall Ecology Centre to deliver the new home energy program to help Durham residents achieve energy-efficient homes as part of the Region's Community Energy Plan- a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Durham Greener Homes Program offers homeowners a home energy retrofit service that offers financing and cash-back rebates for home energy upgrade projects and a home energy coach to give expert advice to residents in the home retrofit journey. The Durham Greener Homes Program will target single-family homes built between 1970 and 2000 (representing 46 percent of single-family homes in the Durham region) because these are understood to have high energy-saving potential.
Windfall Ecology Centre's Founder and Executive Director, Brent Kopperson, who spoke about Durham Greener Homes, said, Windfall Ecology Centre has been helping Durham residents retrofit their homes for over 20 years. We are proud to combine all we have learned in that time to Durham Greener Homes, a best-in-class home retrofit facilitation service designed to ease renovation anxiety and help homeowners get the most from their energy efficiency investments.
At the launch event, a $3.4 million boost was announced to help finance the Durham Greener Homes Project to help more residents achieve energy-efficient homes and create a cleaner, low-carbon environment in Durham Region. The financing is offered through the Green Municipal Fund and delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), and funded by the Government of Canada.
Durham Greener Homes will support energy-efficiency upgrades such as high-efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, thermal envelope upgrades, lighting upgrades and high-efficiency appliances. Additional eligible measures will include heat pump installation, renewable energy and energy storage systems, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, water conservation measures and indoor air quality measures.
Are you a resident of Durham starting your home retrofit journey? Visit durhamgreenerhomes.ca to learn more about the Durham Greener Homes program
More on the launch of Durham Greener Homes on Natural Resources Canada, Yahoo News, insauga.com