RESIDENTIAL: A new feature on My Green Montgomery is our Ask an Energy Expert segment. This month, we interviewed David Cramer, a lighting specialist who is the general manager of the showroom division of Colonial Electric Supply to tell us Everything You Should Know About LEDs. Find out what he thinks you should know about buying your next LED. 

RESIDENTIAL: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced all of us to stay home more than ever. With more time spent inside, we are all using more water than before, to wash our hands regularly, flush the toilet more often and wash dishes more frequently. This increased water usage can significantly impact your bill. WSSC has enhanced their financial assistance programs to help more residents. Eligible residential customers may request a payment plan to make their water and sewer bills more affordable. There are resources on Montgomery Energy Connection to help residents get help paying their water and sewer bills.

COMMERCIAL: Registration is now open for the eighth annual Montgomery County Energy Summit, which will be held virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis. The Summit is scheduled for Tuesday-Thursday, May 4-6. Event hours will be 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday and 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday. The theme for 2021 is “Resiliency, from Building to Community,” which supports the County’s ambitious goal of zero carbon emissions by 2035. The Summit will explore strategies, technologies and case studies focused on enhancing the resiliency of the commercial, multifamily and residential built environment. Learn more at https://www.mcenergysummit.org/

RESIDENTIAL: In 2019, only 11% of Maryland’s total electricity generation came from renewable sources. We know we can do better for the planet and future generations. To encourage our Bethesda Green community to take action, we’ve teamed up with CleanChoice Energy to make it easy for residents to make the switch to 100% clean energy. All you have to do is sign up here. 

NATIONAL: As part of USGBC’s All In initiative, and in support of the Healthy People in Healthy Places Equals a Healthy Economy strategy, they are committed to increasing education and credentialing opportunities in underserved and underrepresented communities - helping to foster the next generation of green building leaders.  Through this effort, USGBC and GBCI will fund 500 LEED APs and LEED Green Associates and 100 Sustainability Excellence Associate or Sustainability Excellence Professional credentials for individuals from underserved and underrepresented communities. 

Interested individuals can submit their interest via this form or use it to nominate a friend or colleague.

The Montgomery County Energy Team receives tons of newsletters and articles every day, and these are a few articles that we wanted to share this month. These articles range from county, state, national and international stories, we hope you find them as interesting as we did.

Air Travel: Airplanes could cut emissions by being better wind-surfers, www.anthropocenemagazine.org 

Bikes: Since 2007, the share of people in the Washington region who ride bikes has gone up, while driving and riding transit have dropped, according to a gigantic once-per-decade report, www.ggwash.org

Buses: The Board of Education in Montgomery County voted unanimously to approve a 16-year, $169 million contract to lease 326 buses, part of a plan that could result in the county replacing its entire 1,422-bus fleet over the next two decades, www.bloomberg.com

Climate Change: In his new book, “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster,” Bill Gates plays a role akin to a trusted doctor giving a prognosis and course of treatment for a patient confronting a potentially devastating disease, www.geekwire.com

Electric Highway Coalition: Six major utilities announced a plan to ensure that electric vehicle drivers have access to a seamless network of charging stations connecting major highway systems from the Atlantic Coast, through the Midwest and South, and into the Gulf and Central Plains regions, www.power-grid.com

Energy Justice: The Energy Department has never before had a director focused on energy justice, but the Biden administration has made commitments to enhance work on climate change, racial inequity and the Covid-19 pandemic. Shalanda Baker's work sits at the crossroads of all three issues, www.nbcnews.com

EV Cars: Toyota Motor North America said it will bring three new electrified vehicles to the U.S. market, as the automaker seeks to win over customers by offering a variety of lower emission and zero-emission cars and SUVs, www.techcrunch.com

Geothermal: Geothermal power is the perpetual also-ran of renewable energy, chugging along in the background for decades, never quite breaking out of its little niche, forever causing energy experts to say, “Oh, yeah, geothermal ... what’s up with that?, www.vox.com

Home Energy: Would you cycle for an hour every day if it powered your home for 24 hours? Manoj Bhargava has built an exercise bike to power the millions of homes around the world that have little or no electricity, www.thinkinghumanity.com

Offshore Wind: South Korea unveiled a 48.5 trillion won ($43.2 billion) plan to build the world’s largest wind power plant by 2030 as part of efforts to foster an environmentally-friendly recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, www.reuters.com

Utility Assistance: The Montgomery County Council unanimously approved a $31.4 million federal grant will help with rent debt and prevent evictions for those who have no repayment plan with landlords or other options to avoid eviction and help prevent utility shut-offs, www.bethesdamagazine.com

Save the Date: Montgomery Energy Summit 2021
May 4-6, 2011 ONLINE

For the past seven years and counting, the Summit has annually offered cutting-edge education focused on the latest trends in green building, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and related topics pertinent to commercial, multifamily, and residential projects in Montgomery County. Our target audience includes building owners, property managers, developers, energy contractors, and other sustainability professionals working in Montgomery County and the larger DMV area.