Blog Archives

Do-It-Yourself tips for energy efficiency: Heating & Cooling

Education is a key part of our work, and one way we are helping residents lower their energy costs is by creating and sharing some short videos with Do-It-Yourself energy efficiency tip. This video features John Kidda, founder and President of reNew Homes, Inc., in Boone, N.C., discusses programmable thermostats as a way to save on heating and cooling.

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Energy bill acrobatics

For the Schmidt family of Tazewell, Tennessee, managing their budget is a balancing act, and one they have become very good at. But high electric bills–up to $300 in the winter–makes that balance tricky to maintain, sometimes leaving very little for emergency funds, much less for the home repairs they need that could actually lower their energy use.

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Murals Showcase Rare Species

Knoxville, Tenn., is home to the largest Endangered Species Mural completed by the Center for Biological Diversity and artist Roger Peet.

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Chattanooga Launches Solar-Electric Car-Sharing Program

Chattanooga, Tennessee, launched an electric car-share program with the goal of reducing emissions and traffic congestion.

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Tennessee Passes New Lead Notification Bill and other shorts

Tennessee passes a new lead notification program, study shows improved soil health in North and South Carolina, and more environmental news from around the region.

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Keeping energy through the generations

“We do everything we can to keep energy,” Barbara Taylor says as she heads down the stairs to the basement of the home she has shared with her husband, Paul, in New Tazewell, Tennessee since 1980. Outside it’s a humid 78 degrees, but in the narrow basement room that houses the Taylors’ heat pump it’s cool and dry.

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Announcing the Energy Savings for Appalachia webinar series

If you happened to miss our first energy efficiency on-bill financing webinar on May 11, don’t despair. You can watch the recording of the webinar, which is the first in a series describing the benefits of on-bill financing entitled “Leveraging Energy Savings: On-bill Financing as an Economic Opportunity in the Southeast.”

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Sleeping giants: TVA and Georgia Power stuck in second gear on energy efficiency

While even the region’s top achievers have room for improvement, some of the largest utilities in the Southeast are seriously falling behind on energy efficiency. In particular, the Tennessee Valley Authority and Georgia Power are two enormously capable utilities that appear to be stuck in second gear.

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The Hidden Gem of Rocky Fork

This moderately strenuous hike through the mountains of eastern Tennessee follows an old logging trail to the 100-foot Big Falls on Lower Higgens Creek. Several creek crossings and caves mark the remainder of the path to Birchfield Camp Lake.

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Radioactive Sludge Being Removed from Sewage Facility

The Department of Energy is still removing radioactive sludge from the sewage treatment facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., two years after the contamination was first discovered.

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