Three years ago, the prospects of Americans owning their energy future seemed relatively bleak. There were almost no replicable models for doing community-based energy projects or investment, despite falling costs and technology – solar and wind – that lend themselves to local development. But thanks to recent opportunities in community … [continued]
The enormous growth in local renewable energy is decentralizing the electricity system, often supplanting energy from centralized power plants. But not all renewable energy is built locally, even in a country like Germany with massive local ownership of its renewable energy systems. The Germans are undergoing significant upgrades to their … [continued]
The following presentation by Institute for Local Self-Reliance Senior Researcher John Farrell examines the five major barriers to the expansion of community-based and conventional distributed renewable energy. The barriers range from the challenge of raising capital to forming a legal structure that allows for local ownership and for access to tax incentives. … [continued]
Sullivan Solar Power is one of California’s largest solar power companies, and it recently launched the Chula Vista Solar Program, which not only resulted in 204,412 watts of solar power deployed in the city, but also provided 29 solar panels to three low-income houses in the city. The Chula … [continued]
Since it will take a battle to extend federal tax credits for wind power anyway, why not make community wind development easier at the same time? Last month, President Obama’s Treasury Department released proposed reforms to a number of business taxes including the federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) for … [continued]
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. … [continued]
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 … [continued]
You’re an earth-friendly person and want to go solar, but a large tree shades your house; or you’re a renter; or you don’t have $20,000 to drop on a solar power system. Or maybe you just want to get more than 0.5% interest on your savings account while getting a piece of the clean energy economy.
A 50-turbine wind farm in Goodhue County in southeastern Minnesota has met with stiff local resistance, a frequent tale in the wind industry. Recently, the project developer won a key court case to move forward, after making concessions about the distance (“setback”) between the wind farm and local homes. However, many residents remained unconvinced that the project was in their best interest.
A very innovative way to make it easy to put more solar on the grid is being pioneered by Tucson Electric Power (TEP) with The Bright Tucson Community Solar Program. By buying $3 shares, individual utility customers can choose to own a portion of a 1.6 MW community solar project, … [continued]
