Category: energy
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Rural Renaissance
Book Review The March 12th episode of Booked on Planning featured author Michelle Moore, an advocate for sustainable energy solutions in rural America who recently published Rural Renaissance. Moore shared her wealth of knowledge on the subject, emphasizing the vital role that rural cooperatives and public power companies play in rejuvenating America’s heartland. With a…
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Is Renewable Energy Better for the Environment?
I saw a post on social media recently that showed the massive battery system required to power a Tesla and listed out all the environment downsides that go into the extraction. The article estimated that it takes 7 years of driving the electric vehicle before it starts to pay off the environmental harms caused by…
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The Net Zero Home: Eliminating an Energy Bill
Net zero homes produce as much energy as they use. A net zero home is not only great for the environment, but your wallet and health as well. While net zero is a method unto itself, similar programs that work towards reducing energy use and leakage in a home include Passive House, Energy Star, National…
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Solar Power Myths Dispelled
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to tour a large scale solar power array on the western edge of Lincoln, Nebraska. I have read about projects like this and have heard just about every negative misconception, but never have stood in front of one to see for myself. It turned out to be…
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Utility Scale Solar: A Nebraska First
Located north of Interstate 80 just west of Lincoln on a dirt road is Nebraska’s first utility scale solar system. To be classified as utility scale a system has to produce at least 2 megawatts of power which is roughly enough to power between 300 and 420 homes. The system was the first of its…
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History and Evolution of Texas Oil Exploration
I worked in Lubbock, Texas for just over a year when I first started out in planning and recently have been working on a plan for Kermit, Texas, taking me back to the oil fields. Lubbock did not have many operating pump jacks, but nonetheless one of my tasks while there was to map the…
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Passive House: an economic and environmental solution to building
Anyone that owns an old house knows that while they are charming and full of character, they are notoriously inefficient. I love my old bungalow, but it is nearly impossible to keep at a consistent temperature or save on energy costs. Despite being a solid structure that has lasted 100 years without major failures, there…
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The Planning Lady 