New Rules Project - Designing Rules As If Community Matters

Memo to President-elect Barack Obama on Democratizing the Energy System ILSR's recommendations to President-elect Obama on making decentralized energy a focus of Obama's intention to make "a new energy economy" a "No. 1 priority." We urge him follow a path that leads not only to changes in the fuels underpinning our energy system but also to changes in the structure and dynamic of that system. The key distinguishing characteristic of renewable energy, its virtually universal availability, offers Obama and the country an unprecedented opportunity to decentralize and democratize our energy system. More...
Meeting Minnesota’s Renewable Energy Standard Using The Existing Transmission System This November 2008 report examines the implications that two recent distributed generation studies in Minnesota may have on the need for building new high-voltage transmission lines in the state. The authors conclude that project over a certain size be compared to alternative ways sufficient power transfer capability for dispersed renewable electricity generation may be available on the existing grid or with relatively modest, strategic enhancements to the existing grid system to meet the Minnesota's 2025 renewable energy goal without building major new 345 kV transmission facilities. Full Report
Energy Self-Reliant States: Homegrown Renewable Power How much energy could be generated by states tapping into internal renewable resources? This November 2008 report by David Morris and John Farrell presents preliminary data that suggests that at least half of the fifty states could meet all their internal energy needs from renewable energy generated inside their borders, and the vast majority could meet a significant percentage. Full Report - Executive Summary see also this video of David Morris speaking about Energy Self-Reliant States - broadcast on CleanSkies.TV, November 10, 2008
Self-Reliant Cities Energy and the Transformation of Urban America - by David Morris Full book with new 2008 foreword Originally published in 1982, we're making this book available as a free download since many of its discussions are as relevant today as they were 25 years ago. The first half discusses the century-long struggle by cities to gain autonomy and authority from state governments and create their own planning and service delivery capacities. The second part describes the first urban-based localization movements and the successes and challenges. As a standalone document, we've also included the new foreword and the book's last chapter, The Ecological City given the current revived debate about the subject.
David Morris discussing Electric Vehicles and related issues - broadcast on the WCCO radio's Don Shelby Show, October 22, 2008 (15 minutes)
Pennsylvania Seeds a New Crop of Local Grocery Stores - A four-year-old program in Pennsylvania has helped dozens of independent grocery stores open or expand in low-income urban neighborhoods and small towns.
Rural Power: Community-Scaled Renewable Energy and Rural Economic Development The next 20 years could generate as much as $1 trillion in new renewable energy investment in rural America. This new Ford Foundation-sponsored study by John Farrell and David Morris provides a policy roadmap for states and the federal government that would encourage modest-sized renewable energy facilities and local ownership. Full Report - Executive Summary - Press Release
Balancing Budgets By Raising Depletion Taxes This June 2008 policy brief by Justin Dahlheimer concludes that states could generate hundreds of millions, in some cases billions, of dollars in additional revenue each year by implementing or adjusting depletion tax policies. The report illustrates how current depletion tax policies, in many cases, fail to account for the full value of the natural resources, depriving state and local governments of additional revenue that could be useful in current and future fiscal years. View the Press Release and Download the full report
Concentrating Solar and Decentralized Power: Government Incentives Hinder Local Ownership Can residential rooftop solar compete with new utility-scale concentrating solar electric plants? Only if federal and state incentives are amended to level the playing field. This May 2008 report by John Farrell explores the economics of solar PV and concentrating solar and shows how local ownership is hindered unless government solar incentives change. View the Press Release and Download the revised edition of the full report
Driving Our Way to Energy Independence Updating our pathbreaking 2003 report, this April 2008 report by David Morris describes how commercially available technologies today could transform our petroleum powered transportation system into one powered by electricity and biofuels. Provisions in the recently passed Energy Act could accelerate that transformation. With the adoption of complementary policies, the revolution in our transportation sector can generate an equally profound revolution in our electricity sector. Hundreds of thousands of locally owned wind turbines and solar electric arrays supplying flexible fueled, plug-in hybrid vehicles can allow tens of millions of Americans to become energy producers not just energy consumers. Executive Summary and Download the full report Podcast of Driving Our Way author, David Morris, on Minnesota Public Radio's Midday Program - May 23, 2008
Broadening Wind Energy Ownership by Changing Federal Incentives This April 2008 policy brief by John Farrell shows how current federal law discriminates against people owning their own power plants and highlights how the removal of two barriers at the federal level could dramatically enhance local ownership and investment in renewable energy projects. View Press Release and Download the full report
Ethanol and Land Use Changes This February 2008 policy brief by David Morris criticizes the authors of two recent studies published in Science for advancing a conclusion not supported by their own studies. The paper notes that the vast majority of today’s ethanol production comes from corn cultivated on land that has been in corn production for generations. Since little new land has come into production, either directly or indirectly, the current use of ethanol clearly reduces greenhouse gas emissions. View Press Release and Download the full report
Carbon Caps With Universal Dividends: Equitable, Ethical & Politically Effective Climate Policy This January 2008 policy brief by John Bailey concludes that universal dividends are a critically important tool to create the political will and public acceptance for a carbon cap. Universal dividends have the potential to hold harmless a large segment of consumers while we move to a low-carbon economy. Moreover, the universal dividend honors the principle that the sky belongs to all of us equally. Private investment in clean and efficient technologies will be driven by a carbon cap that leads to steady reductions over time of GHG emissions and carbon-based fuels. View Executive Summary and Download the full report
Municipal Broadband: Demystifying Wireless and Fiber-Optic Options This January 2008 policy brief Christopher Mitchell examines how the United States, creator of the Internet, increasingly lags in high-speed access to it. In the absence of a national broadband strategy, hundreds of communities have invested in broadband infrastructure to solve their problem locally. This report highlights how communities are continuing to invest in broadband networks - both wired and wireless - and digs deeper into these technologies and the tradeoffs of each. The solution: wireless solves the mobility problem; fiber solves the speed and capacity problems; and public ownership offers a network built to benefit the community. View Executive Summary and Download the full report
Minnesota Feed-In Tariff Could Lower Cost, Boost Renewables and Expand Local Ownership This January 2008 policy brief by John Farrell highlights how several European countries, and more recently the Canadian province of Ontario, have adopted a simple yet powerful strategy to expand renewable energy and benefit local economies. It is called a feed-in tariff: a mandated, long-term premium price for renewable energy paid by the local electric utility to energy producers. Evidence shows that a feed-in tariff achieves greater results at a lower cost than do other strategies like tax incentives or renewable electricity standards. View Executive Summary and Download Full Report
Burlington Telecom Case Study This August 2007 case study by Christopher Mitchell examines how one community in Vermont solved its broadband problems and created a new revenue source by building a city wide fiber optic network. [see also the summary and recent Future Tense (NPR) podcast]

Big Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses

In this deft and revealing book, Stacy Mitchell illustrates how mega-retailers are fueling many of our most pressing problems, from the shrinking middle class to rising pollution and diminished civic engagement. She then shows how communities and independent businesses are effectively fighting back. Buy Big Box Swindle Today! [Also available at your local independent book stores now, published by Beacon Press] Click for more details on the new book

The Hometown Advantage

We've already worked with more than 100 communities to develop policies to nurture their locally-owned businesses. We are the go-to source for cities that are fighting against absentee owned, big box retail, fielding scores of questions each week from communities around the nation. Our resources can help you make your hometown character shine.

Telecommunications As Commons Initiative

ILSR believes that only public ownership of a city's information infrastructure can guarantee citizens a controlling voice in the design and operation of those systems. Information networks can operate like road networks: a common carrier, open to all users and suppliers, small and large, at similar rates. We're working with key officials in a half dozen cities to foster publicly-owned information networks.

Biofuels and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Since we first proposed this strategy in 2003, the concept of promoting plug-in, flexible fueled hybrid vehicles has gone mainstream. In 2006, we helped pass legislation in Minnesota declaring the intent of the state to pay a 10 percent premium for PHEVs and set up a task force to develop new policies to encourage the market transformation.

Climate Neutral Bonding: A Global Warming Solution

We're working with states and communities to enact a policy where no net increase in greenhouse gas emissions can occur as a result of publicly funded building projects. The policy saves taxpayer money, leads to highly efficient public buildings and takes a step in limiting global warming pollution. State enabling legislation passed the MN Senate in May 2006 and several cities are considering adopting the model resolution.

Why New Rules?

Because the old ones don't work any longer. They undermine local economies, subvert democracy, weaken our sense of community, and ignore the costs of our decisions on the next generation. More...