Memo to President-elect Barack Obama on Democratizing the Energy System
ILSR's recommendations to President-elect Obama on making decentralized energy a focus of Obama's intention to make "a new energy economy" a "No. 1 priority." We urge him follow a path that leads not only to changes in the fuels underpinning our energy system but also to changes in the structure and dynamic of that system. The key distinguishing characteristic of renewable energy, its virtually universal availability, offers Obama and the country an unprecedented opportunity to decentralize and democratize our energy system.
ILSR is hosting a conference on January 9, 2009, on the topic of renewable energy payments (a.k.a. feed-in tariffs). We're bringing in experts from the U.S. and Germany to discuss various issues surrounding this public policy initiative and its effectiveness for jumpstarting locally-owned and on-site renewable energy projects. The conference is titled "Bringing Renewable Energy Home: Energy Policies To Maximize Energy Security And Economic Development" and will be held at the Buntrock Commons, St. Olaf College – Northfield, MN. 
With the potential to become one of the nation's fastest spreading local renewable energy programs, the Berkeley city council last night voted unanimously to use the city's bonding authority to finance rooftop solar on residential properties. The city will pay the upfront costs and property owners will repay those costs over 20 years through a fixed amount, special assessment on their property tax bills. If a person moves, the solar system will stay at the property and the new owners will assume the remaining years of the assessment.
The next 20 years could generate as much as $1 trillion in new renewable energy investment in rural America. This new Ford Foundation-sponsored study by John Farrell and David Morris provides a policy roadmap for states and the federal government that would encourage modest-sized renewable energy facilities and local ownership. 
ILSR vice president, David Morris, responds to Al Gore's recent speech proposing a 10 year effort to move the United States to a 100% renewable energy electric system to address three major crises: the weak economy, catastrophic climate change and the dire national security problems inherent in our dependence on imported oil. Morris says that Gore got got two out of three right. A crash renewable electricity initiative would provide an immediate boost to our economy and could slow climate change, but it would do little to enhance our national security. Gore misses the key element of moving our transportation system to electricity. 
A study released this week in Minnesota shows there is an abundant opportunity for new community-based energy development (C-BED) throughout Minnesota. The study’s conclusions affirm those of a previous utility study that found that significant amounts of wind energy can be injected into the existing transmission system at costs far lower than building new transmission lines to more distant wind farms. 
A debate between advocates of distributed and centralized renewable energy systems is just beginning. It is overdue. Consideration of scale in renewable energy systems has been delayed in part because we first had to bring solar energy in all its forms to market, and in part because the distributed nature of renewable energy resources seemed inexorably to lead to their being harnessed in distributed fashion. Only recently have we begun to realize that a renewable energy future does not inevitably mean a decentralized energy future. 
Regulations coming into force in April and May 2008 will bring a wealth of energy and environmental information to homebuyers in the United Kingdom. Potential buyers will get an Energy Performance Certificate and a mandatory comparison of the new home to the requirements contained in the UK's Code for Sustainable Homes as part of home information packets (HIPs) prior to purchasing the home. 
Updating a pathbreaking 2003 report, ILSR's March 2008 report, 
Last month the Internal Revenue Service today announced 312 projects that are now eligible to be financed with tax-credit bonds under the Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREB) program. Approximately, $477 million was available for this round of applications. The CREB program was created by the Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005 and expanded under the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006.
The California Solar Water Heating and Efficiency Act of 2007 (AB 1470), creates a 10-year program aimed at installing 200,000 solar water heaters in homes and businesses using a $250 million fund. The law authorizes the California Energy Commission to “impose the surcharge at a level that is necessary to meet the goal ...” The surcharge will be applied to natural gas consumption on a per Btu basis and is estimated that it will cost the average residential natural gas user an additional 13 cents per month. The bill was signed into law on October 12, 2007. 
A survey in northern California reveals a wide range of fees assessed to homeowners that install on-site solar power systems. The Sierra Club's Loma Prieta, S.F. Bay and Redwood chapters compared the charges and fees in 131 municipalities. The report recommends on that a $300 fee is an appropriate ceiling level that would comply with state law. 
This column by ILSR's John Farrell argues that in their desire to expand renewable-energy production, activists and policymakers focus almost entirely on “more,” rather than “better.” Twenty-seven states have renewable-energy standards, requiring utilities to produce or sell 10, 20, even 30 percent of electricity from renewable sources in the next two decades. The U.S. House just passed an energy bill with a national renewable-energy standard and a drastically higher biofuels mandate. This tunnel vision on “more” overlooks the substantial benefits that local ownership can bring to our energy future. 
Through and attractive pricing arrangement, the Woodruff Electric Cooperative has enticed nearly 85 percent of area farmers to allow their irrigation systems to be shut off when electricity demand is high. The program certainly benefits the participating farmers but the other member owners also save since the cooperative can reduce its need to purchase expensive peak power during critical times of the year. 
Congress and most state legislatures have or are developing renewable energy policies with a single objective: get more renewables. Our new study, Wind and Ethanol: Economies and Diseconomies of Scale, finds that this single minded focus ignores the potential economic benefits from locally owned and more modestly scaled facilities. The focus should on better renewable energy projects not simply more.
The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) has issued the 5th edition of its Connecting to the Grid guide. The report and survey addresses new and lingering interconnection issues relevant to all distributed generation (DG) technologies. The guide hopes to assist state regulators and other government officials, as well as utility representatives, DG stakeholders and consumers interested in the development of state-level interconnection standards.
In Nebraska, cows are helping to produce ethanol. A 28,000-cow feedlot in Mead, Nebraska, is powering the neighboring Genesis Ethanol Plant, owned by E3 Biofuels LLC. The cows are providing 300,000 tons of manure per year, which is turned into methane via anaerobic digestion and accounts for 100% of the thermal energy needed to distill 25 million gallons of ethanol each year. 
San Francisco's Mayor has approved a local power plan that could achieve a 51 percent renewable energy portfolio by 2017. The Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) plan creates an innovative new financial structure using municipal revenue bonds ("H Bonds") to make San Francisco energy independent and finance construction of a 360 megawatt solar power network and make investments in energy conservation efforts.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone wants to further reduce the City’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by making motorists take financial responsibility for their own emissions. The first approach set to begin in February 2008 is the establishment of a Low Emissions Zone. The second approach still under debate would modify the current congestion fee by establishing an Emissions Influenced Charging Structure. 
On May 7th, Washington's Governor signed a new law that effectively reverses a January 2007 Washington Supreme Court decision. The State Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Seattle municipal utility could not purchase carbon offsets with ratepayer money. This case originated from ratepayers that were protesting Seattle City Light's purchases of carbon offsets to counter the utility's greenhouse gas emissions. 
In mid-May, Los Angeles' Mayor announced a new climate change action plan that calls for the LA municipal utility to increase its renewable energy portfolio to reach 35 percent by 2020. This in combination with about 50 other proposed actions will work to reduce GHG emissions in the city of angels to 35 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. 
In early April 2007, Waverly Light and Power's Board of Trustees approved a new residential rate structure designed to encourage energy conservation by charging customers higher rates as more electricity is used. This "inverted" rate is going into effect only during four summer months beginning July 1, 2007.
On April 2nd, the Internal Revenue Service issued a notice soliciting applicants for the next round of Clean Renewable Energy Bonds allocations. The CREBs program provides governmental entities, municipal and cooperatively owned utilities an incentive to develop renewable energy projects. Ultimately, an interest free financing tool, CREBs are a substitute for renewable energy production tax incentives that these entities are not able to use because of their tax exempt status. Applications must be filed by July 13, 2007.
A recent speech by ILSR Vice President, David Morris, focuses on ways to ensure that our nation's move to have 25 percent of our energy consumption come from renewable energy by 2025 will maximize the benefits to the communities in which these fuels are produced and harvested. 
As of today, 111 college Presidents have signed on to an initiative, The American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, that commits their campuses to become carbon neutral. Second Nature, ecoAmerica and the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) initiated the campaign to leverage the unique responsibility and leadership that institutions of higher education can have in addressing global warming at the local level.
A recent column by David Morris published on Alternet provides a review of George Monbiot's new book Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning. The book picks up where Al Gore left off on global warming, offering real solutions without sugar-coating the large personal sacrifices they will require.
A modest tax incentive proposal in Boulder, Colorado, creates a solar renewable energy fund from local sales tax revenues on solar energy equipment. About one third of the revenues will go for partial sales tax rebates and the other two-thirds will go to upgrade and fund new solar projects in the city at low income and nonprofit organization sites.
In September 2006, the Whatcom County Council (Washington) voted to use $62,000 out of $85,000 in projected energy efficiency savings for purchasing a block of renewable energy for a $0.01 per kWh premium. The renewable energy credits from Puget Sound Energy will cover 100 percent of the electricity used in county operations in 2007. 
Citizens in cities and states across the country will be casting their votes on some interesting energy issues on November 7th. Ballot initiatives ranging from a renewable energy portfolio requirement in Grand Forks, ND to increasing taxes to fund global warming programs in Seattle, WA will give citizens an opportunity to decide directly which path their communities will take. Democratic energy in action!
The Freedom Tower and other buildings on the redeveloped World Trade Center site will be partially powered from a suite of on-site fuel cell power plants totalling 4.8 MW. According to NY Governor Pataki, the buildings will meet LEED's gold standard for green buildings. 
Finding that wind power provides their customers and business with financial benefits rather than increased costs, Nodak Electric Cooperative announced that they have dropped their green pricing premium altogether for the 650 customers who signed up to purchase renewable energy.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) has announced a plan to create San Francisco’s first neighborhood powered entirely by clean, renewable energy. The community would be on a 93-acre parcel at a site of the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, where Lennar/BVHP is about to begin construction of more than 1,600 new residential units and 300,000 square feet of commercial and retail space. 
London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, wants there to be at least one carbon neutral development project in each of the city's 32 boroughs by 2010. To that end, the London Energy Partnership has released an instructive paper titled, Toward Zero Carbon Developments - Supportive Information for Boroughs, that will provide the advice necessary to make it easier for the goal to be met and exceeded.
After passing referendums, six small communities in Iowa have filed regulatory petitions with the Iowa Utilities Board to drop their current electric supplier and form municipally-owned electric utilities. They will likely face strong opposition from Interstate Power and Light.
The city of Portland, OR, has established a mandate that requires minimum blends of biodiesel and ethanol in petroleum-based fuels sold within the city and requires city-owned vehicles to maximize use of renewable fuels. The new rules go into effect as of July 2007.
By executive directive, Mayor Gavin Newsom has ordered diesel vehicles in use by San Francisco's public agencies must use at least a 20 percent biodiesel (B20) blend by the end of 2007. The city currently uses about 8 million gallons of diesel fuel each year.
The carbohydrate economy could transform agriculture as well as energy, reviving producer co-ops, and giving farmers a hedge against voilatile commodity prices. For the first time in 60 years, the carbohydrate economy is back on the public-policy agenda. It is an exciting historical opportunity, but one we should approach with deliberation and foresight.
Taking an important step towards making ethanol production more reliant on renewable energy, the Central Minnesota Ethanol Cooperative is nearing completion of a biomass-fueled energy system at its ethanol plant near Little Falls, MN.
This February 2006 paper by David Morris was adapted from a speech given at the Minnesota Ag Expo 2006. The paper provides a snapshot of today's biofuels industry and a roadmap to ensure that local farmers see significant benefits from the expanding industry in the future.
In late January, Pacific Gas & Electric submitted an application to establish a three-year demonstration program termed the Climate Protection Tariff (CPT). The new tariffs would allow PG&E's customer's the option of paying a premium to completely negate the climate change impacts associated with their electricity and natural gas consumption.
A December 2005 Energy Saving Trust report concludes that small wind and solar along with residential cogeneration technologies could provide a substantial portion of the UK's domestic energy needs by 2050.
The Board of Water and Power Commissioners for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) wants the municipal utility to meet their renewable portfolio standard (RPS) seven years earlier than a previous goal required. LADWP will start meeting directly with neighborhood councils, homeowners, businesses and other stakeholders to discuss the plan.
Great River Energy (GRE) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for a total of 120 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy resources. At least 20 MW and up to 120 MW may come from Community-Based Energy Development (C-BED) proposals if the cost of the C-BED projects are not more than 10 percent above the cost of non C-BED projects.
After four years of study and pilot projects, the city of Manassas, Virginia, has become the first city in the country to fully deploy a BPL system throughout their city. The system is jointly operated by the city-owned electric utility and Commercial Technologies, Inc. [COMTek].
PNM, New Mexico's largest electric and gas utility, is seeking approval of a plan to expand on-site solar photovoltaic (PV) in its service territory. The two-pronged incentive program would pay project owners for "green" attributes and for excess electric generation.
Over three years, Klickitat County in southern Washington, studied the potential impacts of future energy projects within its borders and came up with a plan to direct those projects to the most appropriate areas.
Preferring the term "gas-optional" vehicles rather than plug-in electric hybrids, Austin Energy has adopted a strategy to diversify and grow its electric utility operations and hopes to convince cities nationwide to follow their lead.
Portland has issued a Request for Information to supply it with sufficient renewable energy to meet all of its government electrical needs. What makes the RFI unique is that it encourages responders to consider various ownership structures, including city ownership of the new power plants.