Democratic Energy

Memo to President-elect Barack Obama on Democratizing the Energy System

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 06:23:21 -0600

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.

Renewable Energy Payments Conference - January 9, 2009

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:07:39 -0600

ILSR is hosting a conference on January 9, 2009, on the topic of renewable energy payments (a.k.a. feed-in tariffs). We're bringing in experts from the U.S. and Germany to discuss various issues surrounding this public policy initiative and its effectiveness for jumpstarting locally-owned and on-site renewable energy projects. The conference is titled "Bringing Renewable Energy Home: Energy Policies To Maximize Energy Security And Economic Development" and will be held at the Buntrock Commons, St. Olaf College – Northfield, MN.

Most States Can Be Energy Independent, New Report Shows

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:10:06 -0600

A new report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) suggests that at least half of the fifty states could achieve energy self-sufficiency with the help of locally-focused federal energy policy. The findings should inform the energy policy of President-elect Barack Obama.

Berkeley Financing Program Brings Renewable Energy Home

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:28:59 -0600

With the potential to become one of the nation's fastest spreading local renewable energy programs, the Berkeley city council last night voted unanimously to use the city's bonding authority to finance rooftop solar on residential properties. The city will pay the upfront costs and property owners will repay those costs over 20 years through a fixed amount, special assessment on their property tax bills. If a person moves, the solar system will stay at the property and the new owners will assume the remaining years of the assessment.

Report: Rural Power: Community-Scaled Renewable Energy and Rural Economic Development

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 08:55:44 -0600

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.

Electric Cars Are the Key to Energy Independence

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:27:52 -0600

ILSR vice president, David Morris, responds to Al Gore's recent speech proposing a 10 year effort to move the United States to a 100% renewable energy electric system to address three major crises: the weak economy, catastrophic climate change and the dire national security problems inherent in our dependence on imported oil. Morris says that Gore got got two out of three right. A crash renewable electricity initiative would provide an immediate boost to our economy and could slow climate change, but it would do little to enhance our national security. Gore misses the key element of moving our transportation system to electricity.

New Powerline Study Finds that Local Wind Energy Generation Can Avoid the Need for New Lines

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:06:56 -0600

A study released this week in Minnesota shows there is an abundant opportunity for new community-based energy development (C-BED) throughout Minnesota. The study’s conclusions affirm those of a previous utility study that found that significant amounts of wind energy can be injected into the existing transmission system at costs far lower than building new transmission lines to more distant wind farms.

Report: Concentrating Solar and Decentralized Power: Government Incentives Hinder Local Ownership

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 08:44:52 -0600

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 explores the economics of solar PV and concentrating solar and shows how local ownership is hindered unless government solar incentives change.

Federal Energy Incentives Are Drifting in the Wind

Thu, 01 May 2008 08:57:29 -0600

A wind turbine can power up to 600 homes, but 600 homeowners can't get together to own a wind turbine. Why? Because federal law makes local ownership virtually impossible. The federal wind-energy incentives -- up for renewal this year -- discriminate against local ownership and favor absentee ownership. They also severely restrict the number of investors who can finance wind-energy generators.

Distributed Energy First, Wait On New Transmission Lines

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:21:02 -0600

A debate between advocates of distributed and centralized renewable energy systems is just beginning. It is overdue. Consideration of scale in renewable energy systems has been delayed in part because we first had to bring solar energy in all its forms to market, and in part because the distributed nature of renewable energy resources seemed inexorably to lead to their being harnessed in distributed fashion. Only recently have we begun to realize that a renewable energy future does not inevitably mean a decentralized energy future.

Report: Federal Barriers Are Limiting Renewable Energy Ownership Opportunities

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:41:52 -0600

A typical 2 megawatt wind turbine provides enough electricity for around 600 average American homes. So why is it nearly impossible for those same 600 households to pool their resources and own a wind turbine? A new policy brief by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) shows how removing two barriers to owning and investing in renewable energy projects can pave the way for true energy independence.

UK Home Buyers Will Get Substantive Energy and Environmental Information

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:01:29 -0600

Regulations coming into force in April and May 2008 will bring a wealth of energy and environmental information to homebuyers in the United Kingdom. Potential buyers will get an Energy Performance Certificate and a mandatory comparison of the new home to the requirements contained in the UK's Code for Sustainable Homes as part of home information packets (HIPs) prior to purchasing the home.

Driving Our Way to Energy Independence

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:56:43 -0600

Updating a pathbreaking 2003 report, ILSR's March 2008 report, Driving Our Way to Energy Independence, 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.

New Anti-Ethanol Studies Reach Wrong Conclusion on Greenhouse Gases

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:35:54 -0600

A new policy brief from Institute for Local Self Reliance criticizes the authors of two recent studies published in Science for advancing a conclusion not supported by their own studies. ILSR's 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.

312 Projects Given Go-Ahead to Issue Clean Renewable Energy Bonds

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:18:39 -0600

Last month the Internal Revenue Service today announced 312 projects that are now eligible to be financed with tax-credit bonds under the Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREB) program. Approximately, $477 million was available for this round of applications. The CREB program was created by the Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005 and expanded under the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006.