Author Archives: John Farrell


About John Farrell

John Farrell directs the Energy Self-Reliant States and Communities program at ILSR and he focuses on energy policy developments that best expand the benefits of local ownership and dispersed generation of renewable energy. His latest paper, Democratizing the Electricity System, describes how to blast the roadblocks to distributed renewable energy generation, and how such small-scale renewable energy projects are the key to the biggest strides in renewable energy development.   Farrell also authored the landmark report Energy Self-Reliant States, which serves as the definitive energy atlas for the United States, detailing the state-by-state renewable electricity generation potential. Farrell regularly provides discussion and analysis of distributed renewable energy policy on his blog, Energy Self-Reliant States (energyselfreliantstates.org), and articles are regularly syndicated on Grist and Renewable Energy World.   John Farrell can also be found on Twitter @johnffarrell, or at jfarrell@ilsr.org.

Solar Policy Can Change When Solar Hits Grid Parity by a Decade

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bloomberg solar golden goal graphic 2012 6pct_0

  In their excellent interactive graphic, Bloomberg Energy Finance calls solar grid parity (when electricity from solar costs less than grid power) the “golden goal.” It’s an excellent illustration of how the right energy policy can help a nation go gold on solar or wallow in metallurgical obscurity. In the case of the U.S., it may mean delaying grid parity by eight years. In the screenshot below, countries in purple have reached the golden goal in 2012, … Read More

Trade-in the 20th Century Electric Grid, Don’t Trade-off Local Energy

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  In a New York Times SundayReview piece last month – Drawing the Line at Power Lines – Elisabeth Rosenthal suggested that our desire for clean energy will require significant tradeoffs: There are pipelines, trains, trucks and high-voltage transmission lines. None of them are pretty, and all have environmental drawbacks. But if you want to drive your cars, heat your homes and watch TV, you will have to choose among these unpalatable options… Perhaps the … Read More

More Evidence of a Distributed Solar Sweet Spot

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2760960352_86f01ab92d

  If the cost of electricity were the only factor in energy discussions, we’d probably have a lot more coal and a lot less renewable energy.  But the truth is that renewable energy can compete on cost and distributed renewable energy has a lot more value beyond just electricity, as illustrated in this one facet in this brief examination by the Clean Coalition. Distributed solar finds a cost sweet spot. In their analysis, the Clean … Read More

German Policy Could Make Solar in America “Wunderbar”

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Germany's Enormous Solar Cost Advantage

  The Germans are debating significant revisions to their landmark renewable energy policy, and instead of declaring the death of the German solar market, Americans should focus on why solar still costs so much on this side of the Atlantic. After a significant step down this month, revisions to the German feed-in tariff will require utilities to buy electricity from solar projects 10 kilowatts or smaller for 19.5 euro cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) on a … Read More

Minnesota Electricity Could Be 100% Renewable, 100% Local

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Renewable Minnesota report cover

  A new report released yesterday by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research shows that Minnesota can meet 100% of its electricity needs with in-state wind and solar power, and (with ample energy efficiency investments) at a comparable cost to its existing electricity supply. The notion that solar and wind energy cannot be the mainstay of an electricity generation system because they are intermittent is incorrect…it is technically and economically feasible to meet the … Read More

Citizens Make an Example of Minnesota “Community Wind” Project

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  Community wind promises to expand the economic opportunity of transitioning the electricity system to cleaner energy, and engage local communities in the process. Unfortunately, there’s “community wind” and community wind, as one Minnesota project starkly illustrates. Goodhue Wind was first envisioned as a “community wind” project by National Wind in 2008 as a 78 megawatt (MW) wind power plant providing enough power for approximately 25,000 homes. Under its  development model, National Wind looks for … Read More

Mapping Solar Grid Parity

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Cities at Solar Grid Parity with Federal ITC in 2024

Within a decade, 100 million Americans could get cheaper electricity from rooftop solar — without subsidies — than is provided by their utility.  This finding from a new report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance — Rooftop Revolution: Changing Everything with Cost-Effective Local Solar — inspired our popular animated map, showing when major metropolitan areas reached this crucial solar crossroads. The only complaint was, “what about the 30% federal tax credit?”  I think the former argument … Read More

EPA’s Green Power Partnership Helps Big Corporations Greenwash

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Try our greenwash

  While I generally have nothing but praise for the Environmental Protection Agency, its Green Power Partnership program falls short of the agency’s usual standard.  In particular, the program – providing media recognition for participating companies who procure renewable energy – inflates the activities of large companies at the expense of businesses whose clean energy transformation is much more meaningful. Take Wal-Mart, who appears at #3 in the EPA’s Green Power Partner rankings with an annual … Read More

Community Choice Aggregation Lets Cities Buy (Cleaner) Electricity in Bulk

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Communist car

  In 30 states, citizens have just one choice for their electricity service.  It’s like the old communist truism: “you can have any color car you want, as long as it’s red.”  What if citizens could collectively shop around for electricity in bulk to get lower prices and cleaner, local power? In six states, they can, with community choice aggregation. Community choice aggregation is an alternative to (or complement to) electricity deregulation, allowing residential and … Read More