Back to top Jump to featured resources

Viewing all Articles from Energy Page 3 of 79

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

Pinocchio_Lying
Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Apr 16, 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/solar-debate-minnesota-shows-context-matters/

If you’re a state legislator in Minnesota, here’s 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 producers… Continue reading

Paul Spencer, Clean Energy Collective
Article, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Apr 5, 2013

Paul Spencer and the Community Solar ‘Holy Grail’: Episode 6 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/paul-spencer-community-solar-holy-grail-episode-6-local-energy-rules-podcast/

This week John Farrell and Wade Underwood talk with Paul Spencer, President and founder of the Clean Energy Collective (CEC) in Carbondale, CO. The CEC is pioneering the process of delivering clean power-generation through medium-scale (mostly solar) facilities that are collectively owned by participating utility customers. In many ways, their community energy model is the… Continue reading

Cost of Residential p.3
Article filed under Energy | Written by Wade | No Comments | Updated on Apr 4, 2013

Solar Costs and Grid Prices On a Collision Course

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

With the cost of solar continuing to fall rapidly (50% in the past five years) and electricity prices rising steadily, if slowly, the approach of solar grid parity is near. The following chart illustrates the trajectory of solar cost and electricity price, hinting at the coming intersection. 1 The chart compares the cost of a… Continue reading

Los Angeles FIT Program capacity and price
Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Apr 3, 2013

Los Angeles Utility Goes for Local Solar with 100 MW Feed-In Tariff

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/los-angeles-utility-local-solar-feed-in-tariff/

Officially launched in January after years of development, a new CLEAN (feed-in tariff) program from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (the city’s municipal electric utility) promises 100 MW of new local renewable energy by 2016.  In absolute size, the program will be among the largest CLEAN programs in the U.S., but compared to… Continue reading

Cost of Residential Solar v. US Residential Retail
Article filed under Energy | Written by Wade | 1 Comment | Updated on Mar 27, 2013

The Coming Solar Electricity Transformation

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

Solar cells are unusual in that they were cost-competitive from the get-go. From the Apollo space program to highway signs to lighting for buoys, solar could replace highly expensive power from batteries or other sources and eliminate the need for the construction of electric distribution lines.1 When the Institute for Local Self-Reliance was founded in… Continue reading

WNHN logo
Article, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Mar 25, 2013

John Farrell Talks Local Energy Ownership with Arnie Arnesen on WNHN

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/john-farrell-talks-local-energy-ownership-arnie-arnesen-wnhn/

Can energy decisions be made locally, energy generated locally, and energy owned locally?  John answers those questions and talks about Solar 1.0 through 4.0 in this 20-minute discussion on Attitude with Arnie Arnesen on New Hampshire’s WNHN on March 20, 2013. Continue reading

Boulder Vote Yes 2B 2C banner
Article, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Mar 22, 2013

Susan Osborne and Boulder’s Clean Energy Takeover: Episode 5 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/susan-osborne-boulders-clean-energy-takeover-episode-5-local-energy-rules-podcast/

In this episode of Local Energy Rules, John Farrell and Wade Underwood talk with Susan Osborne, the former Mayor of Boulder, CO, about that city’s effort to take control of its energy future. Thanks to Susan’s leadership and the vision of Boulder’s citizens, the city adopted a ballot measure in the fall of 2011 to… Continue reading

PG-investor-heads-and-cheering-320x213
Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 1 Comment | Updated on Mar 20, 2013

Two Ways Americans May Get More Ownership of their Energy Future

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/ways-americans-ownership-energy-future/

Three years ago, the prospects for Americans to own their energy future seemed relatively bleak. There were almost no replicable models for doing community-based energy projects or investment, despite falling costs and technology – solar and wind – that lend themselves to local development. But thanks to recent opportunities in community solar and crowdfunding, we… Continue reading

Cost of 10 Percent Solar for MN
Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 2 Comments | Updated on Mar 14, 2013

The Making of a Midwestern Solar Energy Standard

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

Last night, the House Energy Policy Committee in the Minnesota state legislature voted 8-6 to approve a 4% by 2025 solar energy standard, with an innovative new approach to financing solar power.  It’s a powerful first step for what would be one of the more robust policies to support distributed, local solar power in the… Continue reading