Webinar: Crowdfunding for Community Composting
Learn more about best practices in crowdfunding for community composting!… Read More
Top 10 Reasons to Support Community Power
Building local equity is the key to campaigns for 100% renewable energy, giving everyone a chance to own a piece of their energy future.
What does control of our electric grid look like? Check out these images to help illustrate the importance of clean, local energy.… Read More
Understanding the Small Business Credit Crunch
Even as their big competitors are awash in capital, many locally owned businesses are struggling to secure the financing they need to grow. This analysis finds that, since 2000, bank lending to large businesses is up 36 percent, while small business loan volume has fallen 14 percent and “micro” business loans — those under $100,000 — have plummeted 33 percent.… Read More
Millions of People Investing in Solar – Episode 16 of Local Energy Rules Podcast
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
Two Ways Americans May Get More Ownership of their Energy Future
Three years ago, the prospects for Americans to own their energy future seemed relatively bleak. There were almost no replicable models for doing community-based energy projects or investment, despite falling costs and technology – solar and wind – that lend themselves to local development. But thanks to recent opportunities in community solar and crowdfunding, we may … Read More
New Community Solar Crowdfunding Opportunity Sells Out in 24 Hours
Nearly 300 gigawatts of unsubsidized local solar could beat utility prices in the next decade, but until recently most Americans couldn’t participate because their own rooftop isn’t suitable for solar. That’s changing fast. Just one project featured in our 2010 community solar report, by the Clean Energy Collective, has managed to replicate its initial success. But … Read More
Crowdfunding Bill Would Allow People to Invest in Local Businesses
Under a measure that passed the House last Thursday, you may soon be able to invest in a portfolio of your favorite independent businesses. The bill, which won bipartisan support and cleared the House on a 407-17 vote, would overturn long-standing Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules that make it nearly impossible for small businesses to raise capital (or borrow money) from their customers and communities.… Read More
Grassroots Financing is Underwriting a New Crop of Neighborhood Businesses
Just as CSAs have played a key role in the rebirth of small-scale farms, so too are new community-supported enterprise models helping to launch a new generation of independent grocers, bookstores, and other neighborhood businesses. … Read More