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House with rooftop solar panels
Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 6 Comments | Updated on Jan 12, 2012

Solar Grid Parity 101

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/solar-grid-parity-101/

Solar grid parity is considered the tipping point for solar power, when installing solar power will cost less than buying electricity from the grid.  It’s also a tipping point in the electricity system, when millions of Americans can choose energy production and self-reliance over dependence on their electric utility. But this simple concept conceals a… Continue reading

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Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Jan 11, 2012

Democratic energy policy means strong public support for renewables

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/democratic-energy-policy-means-strong-public-support-renewables/

Conducted by market research institute Forsa on behalf of municipal utilities in Germany, the survey found that 61 percent of Germans are willing to pay more for their power if the extra cost helps ramp up the share of renewables. Public acceptance even extends to acceptance of wind turbines “in my backyard”; 54 percent of those surveyed said they would find it “good” or “very good” if a wind turbine were set up nearby.

That’s the German feed-in tariff at work…

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Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Jan 10, 2012

Minnesota PUC Information Meeting on Recent FCC Reforms on Jan 12

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/minnesota-puc-information-meeting-recent-fcc-reforms-jan-12

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is hosting an informational meeting on Thursday, January 12, at 1:00. For those who cannot make it in person, it will be webcast here.
The PDF announc… Continue reading

Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Jan 10, 2012

DC Revolving Door, Comcast, and Campaign Finance Reform

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/dc-revolving-door-comcast-and-campaign-finance-reform

One of the reasons community broadband networks face so many unique hurdles (often created deliberately by states in response to cable/dsl lobbying) is because of the many ways in which campaign finance corrupts our national and state governments.
Com… Continue reading

320px-2005PoinsettaBowl-Navy-LOS
Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | No Comments | Updated on Jan 9, 2012

Is the Super Bowl a Socialist Enterprise?

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/is-the-super-bowl-a-socialist-enterprise/

Is the Super Bowl a socialist enterprise?  Yes the language is provocative but not, I believe, inappropriate.  After all Indiana, the site of the next Super Bowl,  is currently governed by those who insist government should play a minimal role and the word they, and their Republican counterparts around the country  use to describe those… Continue reading

Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Jan 9, 2012

AT&T Fights Broadband Stimulus by Proxy

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/att-fights-broadband-stimulus-proxy

Phillip Dampier at Stop the Cap! has once again followed the money trail to reveal AT&T pulling puppet strings to attack broadband stimulus funds. More significantly, AT&T is trying to… Continue reading

Advanced Electric Meter
Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 2 Comments | Updated on Jan 9, 2012

How Electricity Pricing Can Boost Distributed Solar – Part 1

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/how-electricity-pricing-can-boost-distributed-solar-part-1/

Update 1/12/12: I created a new post to reflect the current time-of-use pricing plan for Los Angeles Update 1/10/12: Fixed a missing pie chart and corrected a miscalculation caught by a reader What if electricity cost more when the sun was shining? Many utilities are using new electronic “smart meters” to adjust the price of… Continue reading

Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Jan 8, 2012

Who Makes the Rules for the Internet?

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/who-makes-rules-internet

Our focus tends to be at the most local — how do people in local communities access the Internet? But we do worry about how the Internet itself is governed.
Think it should be totally unreg… Continue reading

Article filed under Broadband | Written by Christopher | No Comments | Updated on Jan 5, 2012

Provo to Write off Some Debt of Struggling iProvo Network

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.muninetworks.org/content/provo-write-some-debt-struggling-iprovo-network

Provo built a city owned FTTH network after its public power utility started connecting its substations with fiber-optic cables in the early 2000′s. iProvo ultimately developed along similar o… Continue reading