RICHMOND, Va. - A new study finds that if states implement the Clean Power Plan, energy savings would be greatest in retail and office buildings and total more than $11 billion a year nationwide in the commercial sector by 2030. The Obama administration's plan is to cut carbon emissions from existing power plants by 32 percent by 2030. The Georgia Tech report said if Virginia follows through the annual savings for commercial owners and occupants could reach $182 million.

Report author, and professor at Georgia Tech's School of Public Policy, Marilyn Brown, said one big way Virginia's big buildings could save money is by using air-source heat pumps.

"This is a new generation," she said. "These are super-efficient. They're on the market, their return on investment is great. Right now they're so new we're not seeing a lot of them, but if by 2030 they were to take hold, as I think they're going to, they would make a very big difference."

Brown said the air-source method heats, cools, dehumidifies and manages ventilation, making it much more efficient than a traditional rooftop system. The report estimates that in addition to annual savings on electric bills of more than eight-percent, Virginia's commercial buildings would reduce their natural gas bills by nearly ten percent.

Elizabeth Beardsley, senior policy analyst with the U.S. Green Building Council, said the biggest challenge for Virginia's commercial property owners is finding borrowing capital to make improvements to their buildings' energy efficiency.

"We know that they pay for themselves over the time, and sometimes actually a pretty rapid payback," Beardsley said. "It still takes that initial effort to make a project happen."

Beardsley points to creative financing options that would help homeowners and businesses defray upfront costs. The Clean Power Plan includes programs like that, including one which helps low-income residents.

According to the governor's office, electrical generators account for approximately 30 percent of the state's overall carbon emissions. Earlier this summer, Governor Terry McAuliffe signed an executive order aimed at expanding the state's clean-energy efforts, a strategy Beardsley hopes will position the state for the future.

"To position for future efficiency and the economic benefits that come along with that," she added.

Beardsley said education also is a big component to advancing clean energy. Brown agrees and advocates tracking energy costs in commercial buildings, a technology known as benchmarking.

"And that means that if a tenant wants to consider what the real cost of occupying a space in that building might be, it has some good sense of how efficient the office complex is," Brown added. "It's a way of making the market work more efficiently."


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Colorado is calling on solar energy entrepreneurs to put $156 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding to work accelerating rooftop and community-based solar installations, improving air quality, lowering energy bills and increasing energy independence.

Heidi Leathwood, climate policy analyst for the climate justice nonprofit 350 Colorado, said families living in apartments or those who cannot afford upfront expenses can connect to solar arrays built on top of parking lots and open spaces in other ways.

"If you're not able to put solar on your own rooftop, the community solar program will create large-scale solar gardens that you will be able to hook up to," Leathwood explained.

Solar garden subscribers can get significant discounts on their monthly electric bill. Developers creating the garden make money by selling energy to local utilities. Low-income residents can subscribe for free or at a steep discount. Firms interested in becoming a Solar for All program partner can connect through the Colorado Energy Office's website.

The program also offers low-interest loans and other incentives for income-qualified single and multifamily homes to install solar. Leathwood added the program could fuel lots of new, good-paying jobs.

"To do the solar installation, to help with building the distribution and the transmission, and maintaining these facilities, maintaining the solar panels," Leathwood outlined.

The $156 million should be in Colorado coffers by October. Leathwood pointed out if fully implemented, the program could help more residents contribute to meeting Colorado's goals of producing 100% clean energy by 2040.

"Solar and wind energy are the cheapest way in the long run to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions," Leathwood stressed. "But if businesses, individuals and local governments don't work together to make sure all of that money gets spent, then it won't have the impact that it could have."


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Forecasters are warning New Englanders to prepare for an "above-normal" number of hurricanes this summer.

Hurricane Beryl was already the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record for both June and July and brought damaging floods to the region last week.

Jhordanne Jones, climate scientist for the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, said a cooling La Niña phase in the Pacific combined with a record warm Atlantic are creating dangerous conditions.

"When you have these very clear signals within the environment, it's clear that we're going to get a highly active hurricane season," Jones pointed out. "We know that from history."

She is referring to the 2020 hurricane season, which generated a record 30 named storms. The National Hurricane Center predicts up to 25 named storms this season, with four to seven major hurricanes by the end of November.

Scientists said most of the global warming attributed to climate change is taking place in the ocean. Sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic have warmed to record levels since last spring and the Gulf of Maine is considered one of the fastest warming bodies of water on the planet.

Jones noted while hurricanes like Beryl may not take direct hits at New England states, the aftermath can be just as dangerous.

"The most intense storm doesn't always mean the most damage," Jones stressed. "It just needs to be the 'right storm' that dumps a lot of rain right over you and just will not dissipate in time."

Jones added storms can intensify even in unfavorable conditions as long as there is a warm ocean to fuel them and she encouraged people to be prepared.

Remnants of Hurricane Beryl washed away roads last week leaving people stranded in parts of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, where two people were killed when their car became submerged in floodwaters.


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Clean air advocates are touting the benefits of electric vehicles in the wake of what they call "disinformation" from the U.S. petroleum industry.

The Environmental Defense Fund's advocacy partner EDF Action and representatives of public health and labor are talking with Pennsylvanians about the advantages of EVs in terms of price, performance and popularity, as well as public health and the environment.

David Kieve, president of EDF Action, said they're trying to arm people with the facts.

"If they're dealt a full set of facts, more and more Pennsylvania drivers will choose to make their next car an electric vehicle," Kieve contended. "It's our job to share those facts with folks, especially because there's so much misleading information out there."

Kieve said the American Petroleum Institute has funded an ad campaign "warning" consumers, without evidence, that the push to convert the U.S. to a "green economy" will force drivers to give up their internal combustion cars. Biden administration officials have called the claim false and misleading.

Kieve noted the cost of owning and operating an EV is decreasing and battery technology is becoming less expensive as well. The range for many EV models has also increased significantly. He added EV manufacturing in the U.S. has outpaced every other world region in recent years.

"More rapidly electrifying the vehicles that we choose to buy will help tremendously in cleaning our air and reducing greenhouse gas emission, which is driving climate change," Kieve argued. "And driving this heat wave we've been experiencing throughout the East Coast."

Edwin Hill, international business development representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said advances in battery technology are driving new sales.

"The batteries in the cars are improving tremendously," Hill emphasized. "They hold much more power, much more energy. And in turn, to charge those to that higher level of energy requires either more time or a higher charging rate."

The U.S. government and auto industry are investing billions of dollars in developing and manufacturing EVs, directly creating almost 200,000 new jobs.