Jenn Hill Joins the 5 Lakes Energy Team

5 Lakes Energy is excited to welcome Jenn Hill to the team to focus on policy development, analysis, and advocacy with a focus on preparing rural regions for energy transition and climate change. Current projects include education campaigns about the benefits of renewable energy options and fostering deployment of electric vehicles and building electrification. She…

Municipal Street Lighting: 10 Tips for Local Governments by Rick Bunch

Municipal Street Lighting: Ten Tips for Local Governments Street lighting is often a local government’s biggest energy expenditure and the most widespread and visible service that local governments provide. Many local governments pay too much for street lighting and get bad service because investor-owned utilities control their streetlights. Information is power, however, and knowing what…

You know what the Midwest is? Innovative and Restless…

How Ohio’s PowerForward initiative illustrates where grid modernization discussions are going… Spoiler alert! They’re full of metaphors and catch phrases!   By Benjamin A. Stafford, Senior Consultant   Last week, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) renewed conversations in Ohio’s review of technological and utility regulatory innovations. Three days of discussions in the third…

5 minutes with 5 Lakes – Get to know 5LE Team Member David Gard!

As a young naval officer, David Gard led his ship’s B Division, the team that maintained and operated high-pressure steam boilers supplying electrical power. Running the boiler room—a noisy, hot labyrinth of piping, values, pumps and motors—gave him first-hand knowledge of how a conventional steam generating plant works. David, who holds a degree in mechanical…

New Report: Powering the Mobility Revolution

The Institute for Energy Innovation (IEI) recently unveiled its report, Powering the Mobility Revolution: The Case for Integrating Vehicle Electrification & Batteries into Strategies to Promote Autonomous Vehicles. “Self-driving vehicles are the next big step for the transportation industry, and the mobility industry is increasingly based on electric vehicle technology,” said IEI president and 5 Lakes…