Page 9 - Green Builder July-August 2020 Issue

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Green Building NEWS

The Latest on Sustainability and Renewable Energy
Heat Waves Turn

Deadly, Will Become

Even Deadlier

The pattern of record-setting
temperatures will worsen in coming

months and years.
ATIONWIDE, HEAT CAUSED at least 10,000 deaths
from 1999 to 2016 – more than hurricanes, tornadoes CREDIT: AMERICAN WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION ¦AWEA§
or floods in most years, according to research by the
N Columbia Journalism Investigations and the Center for
Public Integrity. And although the heatwaves are likely to continue
courtesy of global warming, the lead agency for dealing with the
problem is getting increasingly less support from the White House. Something in the air. As companies continue to try to meet sustainability
According to a report in The Guardian, the tepid federal response goals, wind power has become an attractive, ever-reliable energy option.
“has left state and local health workers ill-equipped to act, exposing
communities to underappreciated threats that will only get worse.” Wind Energy Demand
Some states receive more than $200,000 a year to fund climate
teams. But most of the country’s 3,000 state and local health
Reaches New Record
departments get no such funding.

The nation’s wind capacity can now supply

electricity to 5 million homes per year.

IND POWER’S GROWING popularity led to a record number of
annual procurements in 2019, with commercial and industrial
companies buying almost 4,500 megawatt (MW) of U.S. wind
W capacity—enough to power 5 million homes annually—and
CREDIT: SPATES¤ISTOCK total corporate agreements approaching 17,000, according to a new report
from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
Corporate customers from the various U.S. industry sectors now purchase

Condition red. Air conditioners and other climate control devices 10 percent of all wind capacity nationwide, according to AWEA’s first Wind
have become life support necessities. Powers American Business report. Total contracts have risen from fewer
than 800 MW at the end of 2013 to more than 16,800 MW at the end of
They’re on their own to figure out what to do and how to pay for 2019, as businesses strive to meet sustainability targets and improve their
it, The Guardian notes. bottom lines.
The ever-increasing temperatures make it increasingly important “These companies are leaders in their industries, making sustainability
for people to have functional air conditioning and other amenities commitments that are good for business and good for the environment,” says
such as a swimming pool and exceptional insulation in homes and AWEA CEO Tom Kiernan. “The U.S. wind industry is proud to not only power
factories if possible, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control notes. millions of American homes, but to also provide affordable, reliable, and
But the reality is that not everyone can afford any or all of those, zero-carbon electricity to the brands that are driving this country’s economy
the agency says. forward, even as the U.S. continues to recover from the global pandemic.”
CDC has its own problems. During his administration, President More than 140 companies have purchased U.S. wind energy. Google is the
Donald Trump has been highly critical of the agency, including top corporate wind energy customer, with 2,397 MW contracted. Facebook
resisting every Congressional bill that has tried to improve the is the second-largest purchaser, with 1,459 MW, followed by Walmart, AT&T,
department’s annual budget. and Microsoft. GB

www.greenbuildermedia.com July/August 2020 GREEN BUILDER 7

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