“We have a perfect storm for renewables,” says Jan TenBruggencate, second-term board member of the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative. The Hawaiian utility, made into a local cooperative when the investor-owned utility left the business a decade ago, is surging toward 40% renewable energy in the next year, with a third … [continued]
The Obama administration is pushing power plant regulations to reduce carbon emissions and most states have some sort of renewable energy policy. But there’s plenty of opportunity left for action at the local level; action that can also boost the local economy. The following presentation by ILSR’s Director of Democratic … [continued]
How can a community take control of its energy future from a 100-year monopoly electric utility? Citizens of Boulder, CO, are testing answers to that question, trying to discover how a single city can do more for its economy and the environment with more power over its energy system. At … [continued]
“It’s the most inspirational work that I’m doing…this is an inspirational and aspirational effort…at the heart of it is love of place and energy democracy.” Mariel Nanasi and the citizens of Santa Fe, NM, are exploring the economic and environmental benefits of more local and locally-controlled energy production. Is their … [continued]
With solar power, “we can avoid that $100 million investment in transmission lines, distribution lines, in capital infrastructure…” That was Vice President of Environmental Affairs Michael Deering of the Long Island Power Authority in a remarkable podcast interview, explaining how local solar energy can help offset expensive grid upgrades for … [continued]
In pursuit of a cleaner energy future last August, the city of Minneapolis came to the brink of putting a city-owned utility on the ballot. It was the culmination of a grassroots effort to get cleaner energy and local investment from the city’s energy utilities. It won’t be a city-owned … [continued]
Solar advocates were popping corks when a New Year’s Eve ruling by an administrative law judge in Minnesota said that distributed solar arrays were a more cost-effective resource than natural gas to meet Xcel Energy’s peak power needs. The energy media were aflutter for weeks, but many missed the bigger … [continued]
For the last six months, the energy news sphere (perhaps led by the Edison Electric Institute) has been rife with a discussion about the threat to the utility business from distributed energy like local solar, as their customers shift to getting their own power from nearby renewable resources. Reports and … [continued]
It may be one of the oldest cooperative utilities in the country, but in the next six months, Farmers Electric Cooperative (FEC) of southeastern Iowa will be leading the nation in this 21st century energy source. Upon completion of a new solar array, the 640-member cooperative will have over 1,500 … [continued]
From outdated technical rules to local permitting to incentive policies, there are opportunities to increase the potential for local solar power. This is the fourth of five parts of ILSR’s Rooftop Revolution report being published in serial. Read Part 1 or Part 2 or Part 3. Download the entire report … [continued]
