Back to top Jump to featured resources

Viewing all Articles from Energy Page 10 of 79

7372076672_676e075bf2
Article, ILSR Press Room filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Jun 20, 2012

States Try Variants of Feed-In Tariff to Help Connect Solar, Wind Power to Grid

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/states-variants-feed-in-tariff-connect-solar-wind-power-grid/

E&E News – Tuesday, June 19, 2012 While much of the renewable energy sector remains focused on extending federal tax credits for wind, solar and other alternative fuels, utilities and small-scale energy producers in more than a dozen states are forging ahead with programs that pay renewable energy producers a fixed rate for power they… Continue reading

6317368974_d821ff772a
Featured Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 6 Comments | Updated on Jun 19, 2012

Crowdfunding for Community Power?

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/crowdfunding-community-power/

Back in April, President Obama signed the JOBS Act and one of the most-heralded elements was so-called crowdfunding. The law sought to solve a major problem: it’s hard to finance small-scale business ventures.  Wall Street only cares about multi-million dollar plays and securities regulations make small-dollar projects rather difficult (and costly) to jointly fund. The… Continue reading

Back to the Future on Solar?
Article, ILSR Press Room filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Jun 18, 2012

1.21 Gigawatts!

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/1-21-gigawatts/

In the past five years, a new U.S. renewable energy policy has quietly grown more popular, enabling enough solar power (1.21 gigawatts!) to send Michael J. Fox “Back to the Future.” CLEAN programs – Clean Local Energy Accessible Now – have been adopted in 14 states and can significantly increase the deployment of local solar power, says a new report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR). Continue reading

Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 3 Comments | Updated on Jun 15, 2012

FHFA Finally Releases PACE Ruling: Did They Repent?

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/fhfa-finally-releases-pace-ruling-repent/

After effectively suspending residential PACE energy efficiency and renewable energy municipal financing programs in 2010 and then being taken to federal court and required to do a revised rule making, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released its revised ruling on PACE programs [pdf] today. Did they repent from their 2010 assertion that PACE presented… Continue reading

2348998181_5428b0c4d5
Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 4 Comments | Updated on Jun 14, 2012

Phase-Out of the Federal Wind Tax Credit a Good Thing?

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/phase-out-federal-wind-tax-credit-good-thing/

Energy and Environment News has a very long story on a new angle for the federal wind tax credit debate: a phaseout. This article raises several issues, apart from that policy strategy, that are worth a quick discussion. 1. Why Would Wind Compete with Natural Gas? The article waxes long about the trials of the… Continue reading

CLEAN-states-map
Featured Article, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 14 Comments | Updated on Jun 11, 2012

U.S. CLEAN Programs: Where Are We Now? What Have We Learned?

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/u-s-clean-programs-now-learned/

This report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance identifies all of the existing CLEAN (Clean Local Energy Accessible Now) programs in the United States (also known as feed-in tariffs) and examines the lessons learned from the early adopters. Download the report [pdf] Read on the Kindle, Nook, or Apple iBooks Executive Summary CLEAN programs (Clean… Continue reading

solar-power-minnesota-cover
Featured Article, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Jun 8, 2012

Solar Power for Minnesota

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

This report, done for the Solar Works for Minnesota campaign, explores the value of solar power on schools, libraries, and other public buildings in Minnesota.  It was co-authored by John Farrell of ILSR and Christina Mills of IEER. Download the Report Highlights Minnesotans spend more than $20 billion dollars every year on these energy imports…. Continue reading

Vermont-Solar-Permitting-Form
Article, Rule filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 4 Comments | Updated on Jun 7, 2012

Vermont’s Streamlined Solar Permitting

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

The state of Vermont has come up with a good rule for reducing the cost of solar power installations. A national study recently found that local permitting can increase the cost of residential solar by 15-20%, a problem that becomes more pressing as the cost of solar hardware falls. Vermont’s rule shifts the burden of… Continue reading

stone arch and power line
Article, ILSR Press Room filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on May 23, 2012

An Energy Switch, Waiting to be Flipped

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

Minneapolis Star Tribune – May 23, 2012 Minnesota spends more than $20 billion a year on energy — primarily importing polluting fossil fuels — and the state’s utilities typically lobby against decreasing our dependency. This hampers our economy and harms our environment. Fortunately, cities don’t have to rely on the Legislature to stand up for… Continue reading

800px-Energy_density.svg
Article filed under Energy | Written by admin | 7 Comments | Updated on May 21, 2012

Technological Complications of Energy Storage

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

In the long run, there’s no avoiding energy storage for a 100% renewable energy society.  The two major sources of renewable power are wind and sun, and they are either fickle or reliably not available at night. The problem is that the simplest energy storage option for electricity is batteries, and this image from Wikipedia… Continue reading