This week in Energy Democracy News:
ILSR asks for clean energy policies for Christmas; Nebraska booms with community solar; and mayors action the nation unite for clean energy.
Featured Stories
Nebraska Communities Embrace Solar By Ariana Brocious, NET News
But the coal plant is aging. So when Newton came to Fremont a couple years ago, city officials started looking at ways to diversify the power supply. They bought 40 megawatts of power from a wind farm south of Hastings. Then Newton used a federal grant to explore building a community solar project.
“What we found out was, as a municipality, we could finance and do it cheaper than what we could buy it from a power purchase agreement or any other arrangement,” Newton said. The next step was a community survey to gauge interest from customers.
Dozens Of U.S. Mayors Declare Support For Solar By Joseph Bebon, Solar Industry Magazine
Dozens of U.S. mayors from across the country have signaled their public support for solar energy to power their communities. A statement released Tuesday by advocacy group Environment America includes signatures from city mayors and local officials ranging from South Miami, Fla., to Traverse City, Mich., who agree on the need to tap into clean energy from the sun.
“There is no downside to solar energy,” comments Naples, Fla., Mayor Bill Barnett. “It’s a win-win for all involved.”
New Edison Electric Institute Lexicon Seeks to Mislead Customers on Demand Charges By David Pomerantz, Utility Secrets
Meet the microgrid, the technology poised to transform electricity By David Roberts and Alvin Chang, Vox
The highly digital modern world also demands a more reliable grid, capable of providing high-quality power to facilities like hospitals or data centers, where even brief brownouts can cost money or lives.
The renewable energy sources with the most potential — wind and solar — are variable, which means that they come and go on nature’s schedule, not ours. They ramp up and down with the weather, so integrating them into the grid while maintaining (and improving) reliability means finding clever ways to balance out their swings.
…
We speak of the humble microgrid.
Energy And Policy Institute Exposes 3 Ways Electric Utilities Stomp Innovation & Competition By John Farrell, CleanTechnica
Dear Santa … ILSR’s Annual Energy Policy Wish List! By John Farrell, Clean Technica
Energy Democracy News Across the States
California
Can California Achieve 100% Renewable Electricity by 2040? Jerry Brown Thinks So By Julia Pyper, GreenTech Media
A California First: Enlisting Distributed Energy for the Transmission Grid By Jeff St. John, GreenTech Media
California is already hosting several pilot programs to evaluate how distributed energy resources can help utilities at the level of their sprawling, low-voltage distribution grids. Now, the state is exploring how local clean energy resources can support reliability at the transmission level too.
Florida
Could Electric Buses Play A Role In Making South Florida More Resilient? By Kate Stein, WLRN
Solar program offers wholesale prices, 100% financing, Solar and Energy Loan Fund, YourNews contributor
Hawaii
Hawaiian Co-op And U.S. Navy Partner On Solar+Storage by Joseph Bebon, Solar Industry Magazine
Illinois
Local beer company starts construction in efforts to be more sustainable By Annie Victor, Daily Illini
New solar array could be first of many for Pinckneyville By Isaac Smith, The Southern
“We worked through the numbers, it’s going to save the taxpayers a lot of money over the long haul,” he said.
He said that savings will be half a million dollars over the next 25 years. This could go up, though. He said as a part of the PPA the tax incentives passed on from the city to Straight Up Solar will disappear in seven years. At that point, West said the city could purchase the array from the company at just 25 percent of the $900,000 — about $220,000.
Bureau County receiving first solar energy farm By Craig Sterrett, The NewsTribune
Galesburg Investigating Savings Through Solar Energy, WGIL Galesburg News
Local taxpayers in Galesburg could see savings in the form of solar energy due to tax credits from the state of Illinois.
After months of conversations Mayor John Pritchard says that the city administration is “fiercely investigating” developing a solar electrical project.
Indiana
Solar panels on the former New Creations site? That project is moving forward By Mickey Shuey, Palladium-Item
Kentucky
State Lawmakers Consider Changes To Small Renewable Energy Reimbursements By Ryland Barton, WFPL News Louisville
Maine
Challenge to solar rules heads to court, Associate Press, The News Tribune
Solar installers say a push to gradually reduce such credits for new customers would dissuade residents and small businesses from installing solar panels. The groups behind the legal challenge argue the Maine Public Utilities Commission’s adopted rule does not comply with Maine law.
Maine senator renews push for more energy independence, The Associated Press, Ledger-Enquierer
Michigan
Michigan city hopes solar-powered church will inspire others, Associated Press, WWMT News West Michigan
UPSTART provides results from proposed L’Anse community solar garden survey By Rebecca Bartelme, UP Matters
Detroit solar shines: How local solar organizations are linking sustainable energy and community By David Sands, Model D Media
Minnesota
Minneapolis is using electric bills to fight climate change by Adam Belz, Star Tribune
Small commercial property owners are more difficult for conservation advocates to reach and often have more pressing concerns than energy efficiency, said John Farrell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and a member of the Minneapolis Energy Vision Advisory Committee. And the city has fallen far short of its goal of retrofitting homes, with perhaps 15 percent retrofitted for energy efficiency, Farrell said.
“That 75 percent retrofit goal is the one that most starkly stands out,” Farrell said. “We’d have to increase the rate at which we’re reaching people and improving properties by almost tenfold over the next eight years in order to meet that goal, and I don’t know that the city can be successful, frankly.”
Solar Power is Blooming in Minnesota by Madeline Ostrander, Sierra Magazine
But Minnesota’s is currently the biggest and arguably most successful, in part because it places no upper limits on the amount of solar that can be developed in the state. “The success speaks for itself at this point,” says John Farrell, a Minneapolis-based energy expert for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. “We’ve got more community solar than any other state. We’re going to continue to lead for quite a while.” Although Minnesota is hardly known for sunny weather, so far its residents seem to have an insatiable appetite for solar energy production.
California did it. North Carolina did it. Can Minnesota government go green? By Josephine Marcotty, Star Tribune
Minnesota’s solar garden program takes off in 2017 By Mike Hughlett, Star Tribune
Nebraska
Nebraska Communities Embrace Solar By Ariana Brocious, NET News
But the coal plant is aging. So when Newton came to Fremont a couple years ago, city officials started looking at ways to diversify the power supply. They bought 40 megawatts of power from a wind farm south of Hastings. Then Newton used a federal grant to explore building a community solar project.
“What we found out was, as a municipality, we could finance and do it cheaper than what we could buy it from a power purchase agreement or any other arrangement,” Newton said. The next step was a community survey to gauge interest from customers.
$11 million solar farm — Nebraska’s largest — is dedicated in Kearney, World-Herald News
New Hampshire
Webster begins installing first municipal solar array at school by Leah Willingham, Concord Monitor
New York
Community solar projects booming in mid-Hudson By Daniel Axelrod, Times Herald-Record
Ohio
Loophole could let Ohio utilities evade court review By Kathiann M. Kowalski, Midwest Energy News
PUCO to hear comments on home-based energy systems by Dan Gearino, Columbus Dispatch News
Oregon
Rooftop solar installations on way to record year in Oregon By Pete Danko, Portland Business Journal
Puerto Rico
Microgrids could save Puerto Rico. But first, a fight By David Ferris and Peter Behr, E&E News
New $17.6B plan would rebuild Puerto Rico’s grid with renewables, DERs By Robert Walton, Utility Dive
Utah
Salt Lake company unveils state’s biggest battery of electric vehicle chargers By Art Raymond, Deseret News
Commentary: Utah undervalues citizen-supplied solar power by Craig J. Provost, The Salt Lake Tribune
Virginia
Want More Solar in Virginia? Here’s How to Get It By Ivy Main, The Energy Collective
Wisconsin
Q&A: Conservative group wants to change the energy debate in Wisconsin By Kari Lydersen, Midwest Energy News
We want them to think of it differently. When they hear solar we want them to think jobs — what does this do to their economy, how does renewable energy impact their state economy, so we’re no longer dealing with this on an ideological platform. This is a big ship that’s been sailing in one direction for a long time, it’s going to take time.
Tommy Thompson, conservative group launch effort to promote renewable energy By Jason Stein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Sauk County Board to consider solar deal Tuesday By Tim Damos, Baraboo News Republic
Solar panel installation completed on Fen Oak, Sun Prairie Star
Nationwide Energy Democracy News
How utilities are coping with 100% renewable energy goals by Herman K. Trabish, Smart Cities Dive
More 100% commitments are in the works. Over 150 Republican and Democratic Mayors have endorsed the objective. The United States Conference of Mayors in June approved a resolution reaffirming its support of the Paris Climate Agreement and of policies to grow renewables and cut emissions.
Power Failure: How utilities across the U.S. changed the rules to make big bets with your money By Tony Bartelme, The Post and Courier
As states update rules for solar, no guarantee of friendlier policies By Karen Uhlenhuth, Midwest Energy News
Across the country, commissions have been playing catch-up with policies in the wake of rapid economic and technological change around clean energy, according to Karl Rábago, a distributed-energy consultant who has provided testimony in some Midwestern states.
In some states, notably California and New York, regulators have adopted new policies designed to advance clean energy, Rábago said. In others, “you’ll have … no recognition of the need for change. And in some places, you will see barriers erected.”
US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Rejects Energy Efficiency Restrictions By Joshua S Hill, CleanTechnica
EIA: US solar output increases 47% in 2017 By Christian Roselund, PV Magazine
Renewable Energy Is Surging. The G.O.P. Tax Bill Could Curtail That By Brad Plumer and Jim Tankersley, New York Times
Upscaling Local Solar and Renewables: Keys to Unlocking Universal Energy Access, Sustainable Development By Andrew Burger, Solar Magazine
These six states have the highest electric-car adoption rates in the country John Voelcker, Green Car Reports
Workshops aim to train architects, engineers on solar basics By Douglas J. Guth, Southeast Energy News
Arming design professionals with fundamental knowledge about solar makes it easier to introduce the concept at a project’s ground floor, as it’s less expensive to incorporate PV into initial blueprints than retrofitting an already existing building, noted Dan Lepinski, a Texas-based engineer who will serve as a trainer for the Birmingham group.
Power Failure By Tony Bartelme, Post and Courier
Dozens Of U.S. Mayors Declare Support For Solar By Joseph Bebon, Solar Industry Magazine
Dozens of U.S. mayors from across the country have signaled their public support for solar energy to power their communities. A statement released Tuesday by advocacy group Environment America includes signatures from city mayors and local officials ranging from South Miami, Fla., to Traverse City, Mich., who agree on the need to tap into clean energy from the sun.
“There is no downside to solar energy,” comments Naples, Fla., Mayor Bill Barnett. “It’s a win-win for all involved.”
PepsiCo makes biggest public pre-order of Tesla Semis: 100 trucks By Eric M. Johnson, Reuters
Tax Compromise Keeps Wind and Electric-Car Credits, Source Says By Ari Natter, Bloomberg Politics
Some Republicans are reconsidering the tax bill’s attack on renewable energy By Umair Irfan, Vox
Meet the microgrid, the technology poised to transform electricity By David Roberts and Alvin Chang, Vox
The highly digital modern world also demands a more reliable grid, capable of providing high-quality power to facilities like hospitals or data centers, where even brief brownouts can cost money or lives.
The renewable energy sources with the most potential — wind and solar — are variable, which means that they come and go on nature’s schedule, not ours. They ramp up and down with the weather, so integrating them into the grid while maintaining (and improving) reliability means finding clever ways to balance out their swings.
…
We speak of the humble microgrid.
New Edison Electric Institute Lexicon Seeks to Mislead Customers on Demand Charges By David Pomerantz, Utility Secrets
Energy And Policy Institute Exposes 3 Ways Electric Utilities Stomp Innovation & Competition By John Farrell, CleanTechnica
Dear Santa … ILSR’s Annual Energy Policy Wish List! By John Farrell, CleanTechnica
This article originally posted at ilsr.org. For timely updates, follow John Farrell or Karlee Weinmann on Twitter or get the Energy Democracy weekly update.
