December 22, 2008
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.
November 25, 2008
Renewable Energy Payments Conference - January 9, 2009
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.
November 10, 2008
Most States Can Be Energy Independent, New Report Shows
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.
September 17, 2008
Berkeley Financing Program Brings Renewable Energy Home
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.
September 12, 2008
Report: 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.
August 06, 2008
Electric Cars Are the Key to Energy Independence
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.
June 19, 2008
New Powerline Study Finds that Local Wind Energy Generation Can Avoid the Need for New Lines
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.
June 04, 2008
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 explores the economics of solar PV and concentrating solar and shows how local ownership is hindered unless government solar incentives change.
May 01, 2008
Federal Energy Incentives Are Drifting in the Wind
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.
April 28, 2008
Distributed Energy First, Wait On New Transmission Lines
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.
April 10, 2008
Report: Federal Barriers Are Limiting Renewable Energy Ownership Opportunities
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.
March 18, 2008
UK Home Buyers Will Get Substantive Energy and Environmental Information
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.