John Farrell directs the Democratic Energy 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 seminal 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.
November 5th, 2018 | by John Farrell
In early November, millions will go to the polls to cast votes in this year’s midterm elections. In addition to electing candidates, some voters have a unique opportunity to directly shape their local energy system
October 23rd, 2018 | by John Farrell
Municipal elections often fall off the radar during national ones, but cities retain a surprising amount of power over their energy future. What can you ask a local candidate or elected official to pursue? The following list of 11 resolutions, actions, and rules can make your local city council or mayor a clean energy champion
October 16th, 2018 | by John Farrell
With a population of just over 1.4 million people, San Diego, the country’s eighth largest city and the second largest in California, is also one of the largest to make a pledge to transition to 100% renewable energy. Drawing on a unique policy tool allowing cities to choose their electricity supply and the area’s enviably abundant solar resources, San Diego is well on its way to developing a clear pathway for how to reach its goal
October 8th, 2018 | by John Farrell
Minnesota’s community solar program hit a record 435 megawatts of operational capacity in September 2018.
October 2nd, 2018 | by John Farrell
A growing number of US cities have set goals to generate 100% of their electricity from renewable resources in the coming decades, each with its own unique circumstances and motivations. Pueblo, a small city of just over 100,000 residents located in southeastern Colorado, is one of these forward-thinking communities
September 24th, 2018 | by John Farrell
How efficient are buildings in your community? That depends a lot on the building code, which states (and sometimes cities) can use to set minimum standards for energy efficiency
September 17th, 2018 | by John Farrell
What if your savings account could enable clean energy investments from insulation to solar to electric vehicles? Starting this summer it can
September 10th, 2018 | by John Farrell
I’ve been asked a lot of questions about Minnesota’s community solar program over the past couple years and it’s time to make one thing clear: Minnesota’s program is the best in the country. Why? Because there 10 times more community solar projects in the queue -- 400 megawatts -- in Minnesota than have been built in the history of community solar in the United States (40 megawatts)
August 21st, 2018 | by John Farrell
For 100 years, most decisions about the US electric grid have been made at the top by electric utilities, public regulators, and grid operators. That era has ended
August 13th, 2018 | by John Farrell
As new power generation comes online, investments in renewable technologies consistently outpace those in fossil fuel development. Continued growth in both distributed and utility-scale solar has further solidified this trend in recent months
August 6th, 2018 | by John Farrell
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance invited clean energy advocates, electricity market regulators, utility employees, and energy democracy adherents to join a webinar exploring the technical, economic, and market implications of cost-effective combination of solar with energy storage
July 30th, 2018 | by John Farrell
As consumers, we all want choice: the freedom to decide our own best interests and where our dollars go. In the energy sector, however, there are not always options to choose from. Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) frees communities to collectively choose their energy supplier. In Ohio, one city is stretching its freedom to choose even further
July 23rd, 2018 | by John Farrell
For most businesses, profit is the bottom line. Conventional wisdom suggests that concerns about social and environmental impacts, though well-intended, can distract from a public company’s legal obligation to reward shareholders
July 16th, 2018 | by John Farrell
The conventional wisdom in electricity generation is that scale matters. But this outdated notion rests on the assumption that electricity generators compete only in the wholesale market. California’s nearly 1 million solar roofs already producing power provide the factual counterpunch to this myth, but so does ample research on the economies of scale and the price of competition in the wind and solar markets
July 9th, 2018 | by John Farrell
If you like solar power, the waning days of New York’s legislative session might make you feel like fighters at the Rebel base during the last scenes of the original Star Wars film. As the scene shifts from the space battle and back again, a voice from the Death Star crew counts down the time until the superweapon will end the freedom fighters: “The Rebel base will be in range in 1 minute…”
June 25th, 2018 | by John Farrell
In 2013, we hosted an inaugural conversation with Anya Schoolman about her neighborhood solar project then called the Mount Pleasant Solar Cooperative, and the early stages of her journey fighting for local climate solutions and distributed solar
June 19th, 2018 | by John Farrell
The final referendum results were stunningly close, with local organizers coming within three votes of advancing an effort for a municipal electric utility in the small town of Decorah, Iowa.
June 11th, 2018 | by John Farrell
Earlier this spring, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance released its 2018 Community Power State Scorecard, revealing the the best and worst states for local clean energy across the country
May 29th, 2018 | by John Farrell
Energy production from renewable sources continues to expand in the US at a rapid clip, thanks in no small part to the substantial growth of solar energy -- and distributed solar in particular -- in recent years. More states than ever are making solar a priority. But where have these gains been greatest, and what are the economic implications for residents from one state to the next
May 21st, 2018 | by John Farrell
Starting January 1, 2020, every new home built in California will sport solar panels. The landmark ruling of the state’s Energy Commission is expected to lower the monthly cost of home ownership by $40, as the energy savings from solar (and other building envelope measures) added to new construction offsets the anticipated costs.
May 14th, 2018 | by John Farrell
How can community solar gardens be financed in ways that ensure broad participation?
May 7th, 2018 | by John Farrell
Fed up with their electricity provider Alliant Energy, one of Iowa’s largest monopoly utilities, Decorah area residents decided to explore their options for pursuing cleaner, local energy and how the city could create a municipal electric utility for its 8,000 residents and business community. Advocates formed Decorah Power, a grassroots group of residents and community organizers making a clear case for municipal control, and the group has been garnering support for putting the public back in their public utility.
May 3rd, 2018 | by John Farrell
Drawing on the latest national data available on new electricity sources, 2017 may have brought more sluggish gains in total new power plant capacity to the US than it had the year before, but it also brought another, more positive outcome: a notable surge in the nation’s distributed solar generation.
April 30th, 2018 | by John Farrell
What can a city do to advance clean energy locally, if its state commissioners and legislators are not willing to take their jobs regulating these utilities seriously
April 23rd, 2018 | by John Farrell
Frustrated with incumbent utility Alliant Energy for high costs and resistance to local renewable energy, the city council in Decorah, IA, has put a municipal utility takeover on the ballot on May 1,
April 19th, 2018 | by John Farrell
Why should a city seeking 100% renewable energy focus on local generation? ILSR’s Director of Energy Democracy, John Farrell, provided a short presentation to a University of Minnesota forum in Rochester, MN, with three reasons to buy energy locally
April 16th, 2018 | by John Farrell
Xcel’s top priority -- and legal obligation -- is maximizing profits for shareholders, even if that comes at the expense of customers and the country’s most successful community solar program, as a new parody video, released today by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Community Power reveals.
April 9th, 2018 | by John Farrell
Much has changed in the national solar market since an earlier analysis of the market and policy landscape in 2014. The solar market as a whole has continued to grow, and small-scale systems are proving to be better deals for communities than larger ones. So, compared with previous rankings of solar capacity, do states that allow third-party leases and power purchase agreements still dominate?
April 5th, 2018 | by John Farrell
More than 50 US cities have made commitments to reach 100% renewable electricity, many inspired by Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign and the cost-effectiveness of solar and wind power. But how do communities build the political will to adopt such goals, and how do they plan to meet them?
April 2nd, 2018 | by John Farrell
In March, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Community Power released a video that tells Minnesotans the truth about the bill Xcel is attempting to jam through the Legislature. The video is being released ahead of the impending Senate Energy Committee hearing where members will vote on the bill Xcel drafted to give itself a blank check for upkeep costs of its Prairie Island nuclear plant
