Virtual Power Plants Offer A Climate-Forward Response To Increasingly Hot Summers

A global movement to localize the construction process, and design buildings for the climate they reside in, is bringing back practices like green roofs and using natural materials like mud and salt to keep people cool as the planet warms.

Innovators are developing new air conditioning units to keep people cool as temperatures and humidity rise without contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Alongside improved energy efficiency, the new tech focuses on sensing and reducing humidity in real-time and adjusting itself as humidity fluctuates throughout the day.

Researchers of the Cooling Singapore project are using huge amounts of data to build a detailed digital twin of the city that they can use to test how effective new methods of combatting extreme heat would be. It's a digital representation of Singapore that makes predictions based on data like traffic, weather, electricity demand, and where green spaces are.

Mutual aid program Light Up Navajo is helping families get connected to the power grid through volunteer workers and private and federal funding. Over the past five years, crews have built miles of powerlines across the reservation, powering nearly 850 households, many of whom are receiving power for the first time.

Several nonprofits are running a solar cooperative in El Paso, Texas, that helps homeowners come together to buy and install solar panels in bulk, which makes them more affordable.

The government-funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is meant to help households across the United States keep afford the cost of heating in the winter and air conditioning in the summer.

Artists, architects, and urban designers in India are reimagining the ancient practice of cooling water in terracotta pots to create terracotta structures that cool the air nearby during extreme heat.

Medellín, Colombia, is combating the urban heat island effect by creating green corridors across the city. Over 2.5 million plants and trees were carefully selected to maximize impact and planted on buildings and along roads and waterways.

In the Indian state of Bihar, women-led self-help groups are challenging traditional gender norms and saving money to buy and install solar irrigation pumps. The pumps increase the local agricultural capacity by providing a cleaner, more affordable alternative to the diesel pumps typically used to combat water scarcity in the region.

Energy Savers Network helps people cut down on their energy waste by making home improvements like tightening air seals, insulating hot water heaters and replacing lightbulbs. The Network has helped more than 1,000 homes since forming in 2017 and, on average, the improvements have helped cut energy use by about 15%.