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The Senate Finance Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure has been busy. The 13 subcommittee members are examining how incentives for energy efficiency can fit into tax reform. The current tax code already includes energy efficiency incentives, but "the hearing examined how those incentives could be adjusted to work better in a reformed tax code." Other […]

Kansas City Power & Light customers in Kansas will soon see increases in their utility bill. The Kansas Corporation Commission on Thursday approved a $33.1 million (6.7 percent) annual rate hike. KCP&L originally asked for $63 million but subsequently reduced the request to $56 million to pay for environmental upgrades and a wind-energy project. The company said […]

Thanks to the U.S. Department of Energy, commercial buildings in Kansas City, Missouri have a unique opportunity to save even more on lighting retrofits. The EnergyWorks program provides technical assistance to cities, counties, nonprofit, public, and private sector entities to improve the energy efficiency and operating costs of existing commercial and public buildings. The program […]

It's that time of the year again where holiday lights are strung on the roof with care. And if you're like most Americans, you're using lights that aren't exactly the most energy efficient. According to the United Laboratories and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, using LED rather than incandescent light strings uses 75 percent less […]

When it comes to energy efficiency, picking the low-hanging fruit might not be the best solution. While energy efficiency and utility savings are attractive, many companies implement the most cost-effective retrofits and quickest return on investment. Picking the low-hanging fruit implies there's more work to be done, and most people don't do the latter. Progress […]

The streets of Fayetteville will be brighter and more efficient by this time next year. As part of a pilot study by the Public Works Commission, the city-owned utility plans to convert 300 streetlights to LED. Light emitting diode technology lasts three times as long, and uses about half the electricity of sodium-vapor powered lights, […]

A Business Review panel recently spoke about green technology and sustainability as part of a series. Their findings? The savings from energy efficient sustainable design are real, but the benefits go beyond money as greener companies are more attractive to recruits and tend to have more engaged employees. For example, the Golub Corp. said the […]

  Intelligent lighting control systems are gaining popularity thanks to the falling cost of light emitting diodes (LEDs) for commercial buildings. "Falling prices are triggering re-lamping projects in many existing commercial buildings. Because LEDs are particularly well-suited to digital control, many existing commercial building owners will decide to incorporate additional lighting intelligence - including photosensors, […]

According to a recent study by ESource, energy efficiency could become a $60 billion opportunity. The study found that businesses waste a collective $60 billion a year, or 30% of the power consumed by U.S. industrial and commercial facilities. The report goes on to look at the details of certain industries including restaurants, health care, data […]