Due to the rapidly increasing amount of data generated and consumed on the internet, an opportunity exists for commercial real estate investors, lenders, developers, green energy providers and others to develop data center facilities. Social media, streaming services, cryptocurrencies, the internet of things and other innovations have resulted in data center supply shortages. AI technologies, such as ChatGPT, require vast amounts of computing power. And, as AI demands grow, data center operators need to adapt the infrastructure to address cooling requirements in a sustainable manner.
Articles Posted in Energy
Microwave Transmission of Space-Based Solar Power: The Focus of New Attention
Scientists have long proposed that solar electricity generation in space could be an integral component of the world’s carbon-free future. In the 1970s, a U.S. Navy experiment showed that it might be possible to capture solar power and wirelessly transmit it from outer space using microwave beams. Progress stalled after that early test—the models used were at such a massive scale that creating a real-world system felt like science fiction. Recently, amid growing concerns about power grid security and intensifying legislation around carbon emissions, renewed attention focused on a smaller, more lithe microwave transmission system. This time around, the military is not the only interested party. Scientists around the world are conducting similar research. As investors and governments stand at the edge of a fresh green power opportunity, we look at microwave power transmission and some of the projects in this emerging field.
New Executive Order: Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All
The White House has released the text of the President’s new Executive Order strengthening the Federal Government’s commitment to taking new actions to enhance and promote environmental justice. The Order was published in the Federal Register on April 26, 2023 at 88 FR 25251. President Clinton’s pioneering 1994 Executive Order remains effective, but the Federal Government must, as part of a whole-of-government approach to environmental justice, “build upon and strengthen its commitment to deliver environmental justice to all communities across America.”
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (04/26/23) – The Energy Transition and a Bit of Brick-and-Mortar Blues
In today’s roundup, Americans can buy homes with bitcoin, new tech aims to engineer a novel building material, federal investments boost the coastline (and construction sales), and more.
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (04/18/23) – Clean Energy, Critical Infrastructure and Commercial Concerns
In today’s roundup, construction waxes and wanes, energy goals are set, and concerns abound for the commercial real estate market in the United States and Europe.
Sustainable, Versatile and Resilient: How Mass Timber Construction Can Shake Up the Building Industry
Design professionals, real estate developers and builders alike are advocating for a relatively new way of using one of the world’s oldest building materials—wood—in large-scale commercial and residential construction projects. Mass timber, or structural timber, touts such benefits as carbon reduction and seismic durability—all with a lower construction time. With ESG on the minds of clients, investors and tenants, mass timber projects present an attractive construction option for the integration of sustainable resources and these various benefits.
ICYMI: Department of Energy Announces $6 Billion Funding Opportunity for Industrial Decarbonization and Emissions Reduction Projects
On March 8, 2023, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced approximately $6 billion in funding to accelerate decarbonization projects in energy intensive industries and provide American manufacturers a competitive advantage. Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Industrial Demonstrations Program will focus on revolutionizing energy intensive industrial processes with the highest emissions, where decarbonization technologies will have the greatest impact. Industries that represent the greatest opportunities include iron, steel, steel mill products, aluminum, cement, concrete, glass, pulp, paper, industrial ceramics and chemical products.
Read more in “Department of Energy Announces $6 Billion Funding Opportunity for Industrial Decarbonization and Emissions Reduction Projects” by Elina Teplinsky, Sheila McCafferty Harvey, Sidney L. Fowler, and Ashley L. Meredith.
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (03/08/23) – Updates on U.S. Mortgage Applications, the Inflation Reduction Act, and Multifamily Sector
This week’s roundup explores the cooling housing market and plummeting mortgage applications, potential tax-savings as a result of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and new developments in the multifamily sector.
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (02/15/23) – Proptech Solutions, Supply Chain Pivots, and the Inflation Reduction Act
This week’s roundup explores how proptech could alleviate the financial burden of property owners’ vacant office space, manufacturing firms are bolstering the industrial real estate sector, a 200-MW Texas project is first to leverage IRA tax credit for stand-alone energy storage, and more.
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up (02/08/23) – The Build America, Buy America Act, ESG Feasibility, and University Partnerships
This week’s round-up explores President Joe Biden’s recent State of the Union address and plans for the Build America, Buy America Act, the feasibility of real estate companies achieving their ESG goals, and how developers, lenders, and tenants are partnering with universities to solve real estate challenges.