Enabling Municipal Financing for Renewables and Efficiency

Date: 11 Jun 2009 | posted in: Energy | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

As of August 2010, 24 states have passed or have existing laws that allow municipal energy financing programs and a handful of cities have established operational municipal energy financing programs.  The concept, widely known as Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing, is sweeping the country as more and more states are enabling the policy and the … Read More

Community-Owned Sports

Date: 15 May 2009 | posted in: governance | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Sports, unlike any other business, generates a sense of civic pride and community identity. New Yorkers don’t cluster around the television to cheer on Wall Street investment bankers; Detroit citizens don’t congregate in bars to watch Ford or GM workers build cars. But rooting for the Yankees and the Tigers and the Knicks and the Pistons is a natural communal activity. This web page identifies rules, and models, of organized and professional sports that allow us not only to root for the home team to win, but to root the home team in place.

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Wind Energy Taxation

Date: 27 Jan 2009 | posted in: Energy | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Here find are rules related to taxation of wind energy projects. We highlight those that establish a fair revenue stream to local communities that are hosting renewable energy projects but not too high so that wind energy projects are not able to move forward.  Key to the successful development of wind energy projects is the support of the local communities that surround the project and one way to do that is providing those communities with financial benefits.… Read More

Low Income Consumer Protection

Date: 27 Jan 2009 | posted in: Energy | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Funding commitments for low-income energy programs is a critical component of a sound energy policy. Typically, low-income energy programs are focused on helping families pay their energy bills. In many cases there is also a component of the program that targets energy-efficiency improvements for low-income households. Overall, funding for low income households held firm or modestly increased after electric restructuring in the 1990s, although in many cases the before and after comparison is misleading because utilities decreased their spending on low income households significantly between 1993 and 1998.… Read More

Feed-in Tariffs for Renewable Energy

Date: 27 Jan 2009 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Vermont, Oregon, Gainesville, FL, and the Canadian province of Ontario have recently adopted feed-in tariffs for renewable energy, allowing any prospective renewable energy producer will get a guaranteed connection to the grid, a long term contract to sell their power, and a fixed price sufficient to recover their costs plus a reasonable profit. We believe that feed-in tariffs could turbocharge state level renewable electricity standards, reduce costs, and spread the economic benefits across many more project owners.

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Taxation

Date: 16 Jan 2009 | 2 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Taxation is the most visible and perhaps the most important issue to voters and policymakers around the world. Although it is often criticized as excessive government, taxation is an important policy tool. Taxes can be used to level the playing field, to limit size or sprawl, to protect the environment, and to encourage local ownership and production.

We apologize for the lack of content in this section but we are working on the other sectors of the web site first.  In the near future, we will bring together on this page the tax-related rules from the other sectors.  in the meantime, please check one of the other sectors listed above and check back here soon.  Thank you for your patience.

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Community Broadband

Date: 15 Jan 2009 | posted in: information, MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The U.S. has fallen behind other countries both in the percentage of our population that has access to high-speed Internet connections, and in what we consider “high speed.”  Almost all homes and businesses in Japan and South Korea have access to connections that are literally thousands of times faster – for which they pay considerably less than do we.… Read More

Low-Power Radio

Date: 15 Jan 2009 | posted in: information, MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

One year after FCC Chair William Kennard introduced a tentative plan to legalize low power FM stations, the FCC finally enacted rules for microradio on January 20, 2000. "Every day it seems like we read about more and more consolidation in the broadcast area…what low-power FM radio will do is create an important new outlet and spark a whole new outlet for creativity and and new ideas and new music that we don’t often hear on the radio." FCC Chairman Kennard proclaimed after the decision was announced.… Read More

Energy Efficiency and Conservation

Date: 14 Jan 2009 | posted in: Energy | 2 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Energy efficiency is a clearly demonstrated, cost-effective means to meet future electricity needs. States that implemented electric restructuring have set up policies to finance energy-efficiency improvements for residents and businesses. Regulated states have been moving toward policies that use to require a certain amount of expenditures on efficiency by utilities toward policies that require a certain amount of energy savings.… Read More

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