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Featured Article, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on May 20, 2013

Expect Delays: Reviewing Ontario’s “Buy Local” Renewable Energy Program

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/expect-delays-reviewing-ontarios-buy-local-renewable-energy-program/

Launched in 2009, Ontario’s “buy local” Feed-In Tariff (FIT) program promised to deliver hundreds of megawatts of new renewable energy and create 50,000 new jobs by the end of 2012. The program has had some notable achievements, and the province has worked hard to remedy some of the remaining roadblocks to success.

The bottom line is that the FIT program and its predecessors (despite facing significant threats) have jumpstarted renewable energy development in Ontario: the province would rank #4 and #11 for solar and wind deployment, respectively, if it were a U.S. state. It has created 31,000 jobs. It has also enabled widespread participation in renewable energy generation: 1 in 7 Ontario farmers is participating, earning a return on their investment.  Finally, it has enabled the province to shut down all of its coal-fired power plants by the end of 2014.

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Ontario FIT program solar wind capacity

Huge Interest

The biggest challenge for the FIT program is the overwhelming demand. Already, signed contracts for nearly 5,000 megawatts of new renewable energy capacity will allow the province to meet most of its 2030 renewable energy target, 12 years early. Actual deployment has kept pace with many U.S. states, but poor preparation has meant that less than 10% of energy under contract (thus far) is actually producing electricity.

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Featured Article, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on May 3, 2013

5 Barriers to and Solutions for Community Renewable Energy

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/5-barriers-solutions-community-renewable-energy/

Community renewable energy has significant political and economic benefits, but is often hindered by five major barriers. Watch this vividly illustrated presentation to learn how communities can overcome the barriers and advance more local renewable energy. ILSR Senior Researcher John Farrell gave this presentation as part of a Sustainable Economies Law Center webinar on April… Continue reading

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Featured Article, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Feb 21, 2013

Steve Johnson: Episode 3 of Local Energy Rules Podcast

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/steve-johnson-episode-3-local-energy-rules-podcast/

In this edition of Local Energy Rules, John Farrell and Wade Underwood speak with Steve Johnson of Convergence Energy about a successful 660 kilowatt community solar project near Delavan, WI.  The project required 33 separate LLCs to take advantage of the state’s net metering rules, and also used the limited-time federal cash grant program to… Continue reading

truth stretched
Featured Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 1 Comment | Updated on Apr 17, 2013

Proposed Solar Standard is Cheap Compared to Minnesota Utilities’ Rate Increases

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/proposed-solar-standard-cheap-compared-minnesota-utilities-rate-increases/

If you’re a state legislator in Minnesota, here are a few grains of salt to season the message you’ve been getting from electric utilities about the proposed solar energy standard.  The bill (HF956/SF901) requires most utilities to get 4% of their energy from solar by 2025 and offers a standard, fixed-price contract to distributed solar energy… Continue reading

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Featured Article, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Feb 19, 2013

How a City Can Get More Clean, Local Energy

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/city-clean-local-energy/

Like many cities attempting to solve climate change at a local level, Minneapolis is finding the prospect more challenging that it may have imagined. The lion’s share of emissions (two-thirds in the case of Minneapolis) come from electricity and gas sold by two monopoly, corporate utilities. Minnesota’s state-level policy is helping: a renewable energy standard… Continue reading