Published

1 year ago

December 25, 2024

Alice Rush

Ameresco has partnered with the Roseburg Urban Sanitary Authority (RUSA), with the aim of bolstering the resilience, sustainability and cost-effectiveness of RUSA’s key facilities, including its main office, Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) and Natural Treatment System (NTS).

Under the collaboration, Ameresco will oversee the design, construction and integration of solar PV systems across RUSA’s facilities, building on a comprehensive Technical Energy Audit conducted to identify energy-saving opportunities.

The project will include the development of renewable energy solutions, focusing on solar PV technology and battery energy storage systems. Guided by an Energy Savings Performance Contract, Ameresco guarantees both energy savings and optimal system performance. These projects are made possible through the Oregon Department of Energy Community Renewable Energy Program grants.

The Oregon Department of Energy selected 34 recipients to receive $18 million in Community Renewable Energy Grant Program funds. With the assistance of Ameresco, the RUSA team applied for three grants and received all three, with a total $2.9 million award, allowing these projects to kick off together:

A grant of $1,000,000 toward the installation of 800 kW solar PV designed to generate 1.2 MWh annually to offset 44% of the WWTP’s energy usage and supporting RUSA’s goal to be a sustainable community partner.
A grant of $870,870 toward the installation of a 50 kW solar PV array designed to generate 51,580 kWh annually to offset 100% of the energy usage, with 186 kW battery storage system at RUSA’s administrative offices.
A grant of $1,000,000 toward the installation of a 400 kW floating solar PV system designed to generate 536,074 kWh annually to offset 64% of the NTS energy usage.

“As wastewater treatment plants are among the most energy-intensive public services, RUSA’s projects represent a critical step forward in reducing carbon footprints and promoting sustainability,” says Lou Maltezos, executive vice president at Ameresco.

“This collaboration is a great model for how public entities can implement innovative solutions to address modern energy challenges while advancing community welfare.”

The post RUSA, Ameresco Partner on Solar Adoption for Public Utilities appeared first on Solar Industry.

RUSA, Ameresco Partner on Solar Adoption for Public Utilities

Renewable Energy

The Catastrophic Shift in America’s Impact on the World

Published

8 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Alice Rush

It’s not as if the United States has held the moral high ground throughout its history, with its slavery, the butchering of the Indians, Jim Crow, the support of tyrannical dictatorships around the globe, and the corrupt suppression of the working class in favor of Trump’s billionaire donors.

Yet, it was very recently that the entire nation became a force for the destruction of civil society.

The Catastrophic Shift in America’s Impact on the World

Renewable Energy

We’re Running Out of Time

Published

2 days ago

March 20, 2026

Alice Rush

There really are threats to human civilization that seem to be mounting in intensity:

• World fascism. (If it can happen in the U.S., it could conceivably happen anywhere.)

• Environmental collapse.

• Malicious use of AI.

• Pandemics, as misinformation on vaccinations spread and the frozen tundra melts, releasing pathogens never seen by humans.

• Nuclear war.

Addressing the point made at left, is there any scenario in which world governments agree to cooperate so as to stave off the end of an organized society here on Earth? One supposes so, though it sounds far-fetched in today’s world in which the leaders of most of the 200+ sovereign nations are trying so desperately to cling to power.