Author: shirinpaj

ECOPact – The Green Concrete

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#sp3637,

  1. EcoPact is sold at a range of low-carbon levels from 30%-100% less carbon emissions compared to the traditional concrete by using a circular business model by using waste from demolition of other projects
  2. Company integrates fine mixed granulate from construction and demolition material as an additive. Concrete mix is currently available in many European and South American countries
  3. Belfast Valley, a Baltimore-based contractor, is using EcoPact on Georgetown university 12 story residence hall building which is the first major construction project in Washington DC. to use the green products
  4. Products formation seem to not be much different than the traditional concrete except when temperatures fall at or below freezing where concrete sets slower than traditional concrete

Stake Holders

  1. Construction companies
  2. Contractors and developers
  3. Governments who set sustainability goals

Deployment

  1. EcoPact to ramp up marketing the product at a larger scale
  2. Work with cement plant where the product is being marketed to make sure supply is available

Sources

Baltimore contractor pilots low-carbon concrete product

https://www.lafargeholcim.com/ecopact-the-green-concrete

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NREL Software Automates Residential Solar Permitting, Replacing Painstaking Process for Local Governments

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#sp3637, #energy

https://www.nrel.gov/news/program/2021/solarapp-software-automates-residential-solar-permitting.html

ARTICLE SUMMARY

  1. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released a pilot version of a no-cost, no-touch software system for cities and counties across the country to streamline rooftop solar permits in late 2020
  2. Besides gaining efficiency, local governments can count on SolarAPP to increase permitting fee revenue, enhance local resilience, establish safe solar-grid connections, and accelerate job growth in solar energy
  3. SolarAPP is beneficial for both compliant and non-compliant solar project designs. If a system is compliant, SolarAPP will approve the design and issue a permit instantly. If a system is not compliant, SolarAPP will decline the application and clarify why the system was not code-compliant, allowing the contractor to go back and revise their application in real time
  4. SolarAPP is compatible with local government permitting software, including Accela and OpenGov, which serve thousands of local governments across the United States

STAKEHOLDERS

  1. Government officials
  2. Contractors
  3. Private Citizens

DEPLOYMENT STRATEGY NATIONALLY

  1. NREL to start a campaign and market the app
  2. Target marketing to areas with 150 and more days of sunshine
  3. Work with local government for subsidies

Airbnb Launches City Portal: A First-of-its-Kind Resource for Governments

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#sp3637 #civiengagement #HealthandSafety

Article Summary:

https://news.airbnb.com/cityportal

Airbnb teamed up with governments and tourism organizations to add the City portal for locally-specific data. The dashboard includes local and global insights into the short-term rental market characteristics, which helps governments and tourism organizations to take advantage of the information. information is currently available for certain big cities.

  1. local information(restaurants, entertainment, etc.) is available to travelers in one location
  2. Tourism organizations can see where the guests are coming from and adjust their marketing accordingly
  3. Governments can develop fair short-term rental policies and regulations and allocate appropriate taxes
  4. Central location for resources such as neighborhood support hotline and where law enforcement supports may be needed
  5. Policing the policies is easier if officials have questions or receive complaints as the information is all in one place

STAKEHOLDERS

  1. Local governments
  2. Tourism organizations
  3. Travelers
  4. Local businesses and communities

IMPLEMENTATION

Since this portal has already been established for larger cities and hot vacation spots, an initiative to expand to smaller towns and communities will benefit the local communities.

  1. Establish a group within Airbnb, or government funded team, to research and prepare a list of isolated vacation locations that could be added to the existing hot vacation spots.
  2. Reach out to local businesses and potential available rental properties to expand the database
  3. Market these isolated new locations with a campaign slogan “Spread-out America” to ease back into normality post COVID19 pandemic.

CHARLOTTE AREA TRANSIT SYSTEM, ETRANSENERGY ANNOUNCE ELECTRIC BUS PARTNERSHIP

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#Energy

#SP3637

Electrifying Bus Fleets in Charlotte, NC – (Pilot Program)

https://charlottenc.gov/newsroom/cityhighlights/Pages/Electric-Bus-Pilot.aspx

  1. Public-private partnership between Duke Energy and Charlottes Area Transit System(CATS) will pilot a program to utilize 18 battery operated bus vehicles in the city and surrounding areas. Program to begin in early 2022 and span over 12-18 months
  2. Pilot program is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge, and FTA(Federal Transit Administration) and CATS Capital Investment Program will fund the pilot program.
  3. Some challenges as CATS collects and assesses the data are:
    1. high upfront cost
    2. performance of the busses for long and frequent routes
    3. finding/testing manufacturers that best suite city’s weather, topography and needs

Stakeholders

  1. Charlottes Area Transit System(CATS)
  2. Duke Energy – subsidiary of eTransEnergy
  3. Residents of Charlotte, NC and surrounding areas
  4. Federal Transit Administration(FTA)

Three steps to deploy the technology (assuming funding is in place)

  1. Work with manufacturers that are interested in participating in the program and bus selection
  2. Identify charging needs and potential charging stations and associated infrastructure to support the stations, as buses will draw more energy than the electric cars
  3. Identify bus routes and areas that the program will serve based on above