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Joy Hughes
Article, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on May 17, 2013

A Community Solar Gold Standard: Episode 9 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/community-solar-gold-standard-episode-9-local-energy-rules-podcast/

Joy Hughes was living in the San Luis Valley of Colorado, a place with a “tremendous amount of solar potential,” so good that the valley’s residents were being overwhelmed by proposals for large scale solar power plants. One had a “field of things like radar dishes” and another included a “600 foot tower.” The influx… Continue reading

germany people powered 2012.003
Article, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on May 15, 2013

Half of Germany’s 63,000 Megawatts of Renewable Energy is Locally Owned

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/germanys-63000-megawatts-renewable-energy-locally-owned/

Courtesy of Craig Morris and the Germany Renewable Energy industry, evidence that Germany’s renewable energy program remains people powered.  Total megawatts represent wind and solar only. Continue reading

Sustainability Milestone Meeting March 17th 2011
Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on May 1, 2013

On Climate, What Walmart Says vs. What It Does

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

Walmart has been generating some impressive-sounding headlines on the environment lately. But a closer examination of what Walmart is and isn’t doing reveals a company that in fact lags its peers on renewable energy and is contributing a large and growing volume of climate change pollution to the atmosphere. Continue reading

Minnesota's Proposed Solar Energy Standard in Comparison
Article, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Apr 25, 2013

Minnesota’s Proposed Solar Standard in Comparison

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

Some Minnesota legislators are getting a little weak-kneed listening to utility lobbyists make hugely ironic claims about the cost of the proposed solar standard and thinking about how much solar this is. Time for some context. The originally proposed 10% solar energy standard might have been ambitious by national standards, but the current 4% by… 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

CUB Retail Electricity Suppliers Report Card
Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Feb 28, 2013

Three Unequal Options for Local Energy Control

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

If we ignore self-generation, three policies are at the center of increasing local control of energy: deregulation (“customer choice”), municipal aggregation (“city choice”), and municipal utilities (“city ownership”).  Two recent articles highlight the relative value of these policies quite clearly. The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) of Illinois, a nonprofit ratepayer advocacy organization, just released a… Continue reading

Bill Moyer, Backbone Campaign
Article, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Jan 31, 2013

Bill Moyer: Episode 2 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/bill-moyer-episode-2-local-energy-rules-podcast/

In this edition of Local Energy Rules, John Farrell and Wade Underwood speak with Bill Moyer of the Backbone Campaign about a nascent community solar project in Vashon, WA. We ask Bill about his involvement with the project as a community organizer—delving into the frustrating regulatory barriers that have kept the project from coming to… Continue reading

Screenshot of Whiteboard video of Rooftop Revolution research
Article, ILSR Press Room, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 2 Comments | Updated on Jan 24, 2013

Solar Rooftop Revolution: A Video Whiteboard

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

Solar company Renvu created a delightful whiteboard animation of the results from our Rooftop Revolution research, which automatically makes them cooler than the average solar company.  Check it out below or on Youtube. Continue reading

AnyaSchoolmanwYardSign3-1
Article, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 1 Comment | Updated on Jan 16, 2013

Anya Schoolman: Episode 1 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/anya-schoolman-episode-1-local-energy-rules-podcast/

What began as a group of neighbors hoping to reduce their impact on global warming has since become a major force for solar advocacy in Washington, DC. The Mount Pleasant Solar Cooperative was started by two teenage boys who wanted to make solar power convenient and affordable through a bulk-purchase program. Along the way, the… Continue reading