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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

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Featured Article, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on May 3, 2013

5 Barriers to and Solutions for Community Renewable Energy

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/5-barriers-solutions-community-renewable-energy/

Community renewable energy has significant political and economic benefits, but is often hindered by five major barriers. Watch this vividly illustrated presentation to learn how communities can overcome the barriers and advance more local renewable energy. ILSR Senior Researcher John Farrell gave this presentation as part of a Sustainable Economies Law Center webinar on April… Continue reading

Complicated rubber band ball
Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 2 Comments | Updated on Aug 27, 2012

Forthcoming Project in Washington State Illustrates Complexity of Community Solar

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/forthcoming-project-washington-state-illustrates-complexity-community-solar/

Colorado just launched their long-awaited community solar gardens law (program subscribed in 30 minutes) and California is progressing on a virtual net metering law that could remove one of many roadblocks to community solar.  But the Vashon Community Solar Project in Washington State shows that doing solar community-style hasn’t become easy. The Vashon project will… Continue reading

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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

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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

Balancing Lady
Featured Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 2 Comments | Updated on May 1, 2012

Local Solar Could Solve ‘Massive Supply-Demand Imbalance’ in Renewable Energy Financing

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/massive-supply-demand-imbalance-for-solar-and-wind-project-financing/

In the next two years, the U.S. may get a lot less solar and wind power than it could. It’s not a shortage of solar panels or the cost of turbines.  Rather, it’s a problem of the perverse nature of federal incentives for renewable energy.  Right now, the owner of a solar or wind energy… Continue reading

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Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 3 Comments | Updated on Mar 12, 2012

Why “Passive Activities” May Be Clean Energy’s Biggest Hurdle

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/passive-activities-clean-energys-biggest-hurdle/

If you care about the future of the American renewable energy industry, you need to learn what the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) calls “passive activities.”  Because these important rules mean that as long as the U.S. relies on the tax code to provide renewable energy incentives, renewable energy can only grow as fast as Wall… Continue reading

Turbines On The Ridge
Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 1 Comment | Updated on Mar 8, 2012

Refundable Federal Tax Credit Could Remove Barrier to Community Wind

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/refundable-federal-tax-credit-remove-barrier-community-wind/

Update 3/9/12:Turns out I would be a lousy tax attorney and that the form of tax credit does not affect the passive loss rules. What if a small change in federal renewable energy policy could make community wind development easier? Last month, President Obama’s Treasury Department released proposed reforms to a number of business taxes… Continue reading

John Farrell
Article, ILSR Press Room, Resource filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | No Comments | Updated on Dec 15, 2011

John Farrell Talks Renewable Energy Incentives and Boulder’s Municipal Energy Effort with Tom McKinnon on KGNU

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/john-farrell-talks-renewable-energy-incentives-and-boulders-municipal-energy-effort-tom-mcki/

In this short interview on KGNU’s science show – How on Earth– with Tom McKinnon, we talk about: the problems presented for local ownership of energy resources when federal incentives use the tax code, the trouble for clean energy when it’s reliant on Wall Street, how Boulder, CO, may accomplish something remarkable with its vote… Continue reading

Article filed under Energy | Written by John Farrell | 5 Comments | Updated on Dec 5, 2011

Federal Tax Credits Handcuff Clean Energy Development

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/federal-tax-credits-handcuff-clean-energy-development/

Clean energy advocates should cast aside their worries about increasing Republican scrutiny of energy subsidies.  The clean energy industry’s foolish reliance on tax incentives has already handcuffed its expansion. Unlike the leading nations in the clean energy race, the United States has no coherent energy policy.  Rather, its energy market is balkanized by 50 distinct… Continue reading