Watch: John Farrell Talks Energy Decentralization on Thom Hartmann’s Big Picture

Date: 24 Feb 2014 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

What is energy decentralization, who’s doing it, and why does it matter? John Farrell, Director of Democratic Energy, answers these questions in an interview segment with Thom Hartmann on his Big Picture program on February 18, 2014. Skip to 30:06 to see John’s interview.  

Millions of People Investing in Solar – Episode 16 of Local Energy Rules Podcast

Date: 20 Feb 2014 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, Podcast | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

For years, the only effective way to go solar was to have tens of thousands of dollars and a sunny roof.  Investing in solar was nearly impossible.  But a couple years ago, a new notion called crowdfunding got its start, and California-Based Mosaic was on the forefront.  Its crowdfunding program allows people to pool their resources, large or small, to build community-based solar installations.  It’s not about charity, either.  Mosaic’s pioneering crowdfunding effort is letting people across the country earn a modest return on their solar investment and putting clean local power on rooftops everywhere.

We spoke with Mosaic president Billy Parish via Skype in mid-February about the potential for crowdfunding to give most Americans a chance to invest in renewable energy.… Read More

Envisioning An Innovative Local Electric Utility – Episode 15 of Local Energy Rules Podcast

Date: 6 Feb 2014 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, Podcast | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Listen in to the podcast to hear Ken Regelson describe how the remarkable results of Boulder’s citizen-driven energy model have given them power to stand up to the incumbent electric monopoly with a vision for a 21st century clean energy system.… Read More

Show Me Solar: Parity, Value, and Opportunity for Solar Power

Date: 4 Feb 2014 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 1 Facebooktwitterredditmail

What can solar power do for a single state? How about 21% of its energy, $14 billion in economic activity, and over 150,000 jobs. At a discount to existing electricity costs. Without subsidies. ILSR’s Director of Democratic Energy, John Farrell, shared this message with the Missouri Solar Energy Industries Association on Feb. 1, 2014 in Kansas … Read More

Natural Gas isn’t a Bridge Fuel, it’s a Gateway Drug

Date: 30 Jan 2014 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 2 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In his State of the Union, President Obama added to the conventional wisdom that supplanting coal with natural gas will act as a bridge toward a climate solution. Unfortunately, gas is more of a gateway drug than a bridge to a clean energy future. 1) It’s still a major greenhouse gas.  Sure, natural gas is cleaner … Read More

Local Climate Solutions

Date: 27 Jan 2014 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

What can an individual city or town do to fight climate change? A lot! View these slides from a presentation by ILSR’s Director of Democratic Energy John Farrell to the Northfield Climate Summit on January 18, 2014, to see what one small Minnesota town has done, what other steps it can take as part of the … Read More

Rooftop Revolution – Appendix

Date: 21 Jan 2014 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

This wraps up the serialized edition of our residential Rooftop Revolution report.  Read the whole report in short segments below, or download the report and other resources. Part 1 – The Coming Solar Electricity Transformation Part 2 – Solar Costs and Grid Prices On a Collision Course Part 3 – The Solar Opportunity Part 4 – … Read More

A David and Goliath Fight to Tap World Class Solar – Episode 14 of Local Energy Rules Podcast

Date: 16 Jan 2014 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, Podcast | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

“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.” Citizens of Santa Fe, NM, are exploring the economic and environmental benefits of more local and locally-controlled energy production.  Is their city ready to take the lead? Find out in this … Read More

The High Cost of the Solar Middleman

Date: 9 Jan 2014 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 3 Facebooktwitterredditmail

If there’s no such thing as a free lunch, then how can Americans get solar on their roof with “zero money down” and lower their electric bill?  Solar leasing, as it’s often called, is a clever market solution to poor federal and state policy design that otherwise requires Americans to do financial acrobatics to power their … Read More

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