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New York’s Community Solar Program

New York’s Community Solar Program

Abby Hornberger

May 14, 2021

NY-Sun’s Shared Renewables program, enacted by the Reforming the Energy Vision initiative in 2017, offers community solar to homes and businesses. This post summarizes the policy and compiles additional New York community solar resources.READ MORE


How Big Utilities’ Climate Pledges Fall Short — Episode 129 of Local Energy Rules

How Big Utilities’ Climate Pledges Fall Short — Episode 129 of Local Energy Rules

Maria McCoy

May 5, 2021

For this episode of Local Energy Rules, host John Farrell and guest John Romankiewicz discuss The Dirty Truth About Utility Climate Pledges: utilities are doing far too little to retire coal, replace it with clean energy, and fulfill their promises.READ MORE


Why Minnesota’s Community Solar Program is the Best

Why Minnesota's Community Solar Program is the Best

John Farrell

May 3, 2021

Minnesota's community solar program hit 794 megawatts in April 2021, enough to power more than 100,000 homes each year or about as much capacity as a typical nuclear power plant!READ MORE


30 Times More Jobs from Rooftop Solar, Utility Filing Says

30 Times More Jobs from Rooftop Solar, Utility Filing Says

John Farrell

April 30, 2021

Tucked into a proposal from Xcel Energy, the state's largest electric company, was a comparison of two proposed solar projects: one, a giant solar array on the site of a closing coal plant; the other, a small collection of rooftop solar projects to serve low-income residents. In a nondescript tableREAD MORE


Voices of 100%: Youth Propel a Climate Action Plan in St. Louis Park — Episode 128 of Local Energy Rules

Voices of 100%: Youth Propel a Climate Action Plan in St. Louis Park — Episode 128 of Local Energy Rules

Maria McCoy

April 21, 2021

For this Voices of 100% episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell and guests Larry Kraft and Emily Ziring discuss the St. Louis Park, Minn. climate action plan and commitment to carbon neutrality by 2040.READ MORE


Hosting Capacity Analysis Could Simplify Grid Interconnection for Distributed Energy Resources

Hosting Capacity Analysis Could Simplify Grid Interconnection for Distributed Energy Resources

Maria McCoy

April 13, 2021

These comments, submitted to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on April 7, underline the value Xcel Energy's hosting capacity analysis could have as part of the interconnection process.READ MORE


Community Solar Collective Gives Member-Owners Power — Episode 127 of Local Energy Rules

Community Solar Collective Gives Member-Owners Power — Episode 127 of Local Energy Rules

Maria McCoy

April 7, 2021

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules podcast, host John Farrell and guest Timothy DenHerder-Thomas discuss the People’s Solar Energy Fund, an initiative to pool together community-owned solar developers and scale up community solar nationwide.READ MORE


New Power Generation Quarterly: Annual Update — 2020

New Power Generation Quarterly: Annual Update — 2020

Maria McCoy

April 1, 2021

The U.S. energy industry in 2020: though the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic showed up, renewables resources showed out. Here's the latest update from ILSR’s Energy Democracy Initiative.READ MORE


Illinois’s Community Solar Program

Illinois's Community Solar Program

Abby Hornberger

March 31, 2021

The Future Energy Jobs Act, passed in 2016, is a comprehensive bill that established Illinois’s community solar program and a commitment to expand access to solar for low- and moderate-income residents.READ MORE


Connecting Customers to Create a Virtual Power Plant — Episode 126 of Local Energy Rules

Connecting Customers to Create a Virtual Power Plant — Episode 126 of Local Energy Rules

Maria McCoy

March 24, 2021

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules podcast, host John Farrell and CEO of OhmConnect Cisco DeVries discuss demand response and the 550 megawatt Resi-Station “virtual power plant.”READ MORE


Much More Rooftop Solar from an Alternative to Monopoly Utility Models

Much More Rooftop Solar from an Alternative to Monopoly Utility Models

John Farrell

March 21, 2021

A new modeling approach from Vote Solar and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) might finally put distributed solar on the same footing in grid planning as the large power plants that utilities prefer.READ MORE


National Community Solar Programs Tracker

National Community Solar Programs Tracker

Maria McCoy

March 19, 2021

19 states have policies allowing some form of community renewable energy. This quarterly update (2020 Q4) shows the capacity built in states with most active programs: Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New York. It focuses on programs in investor-owned utility service territory.READ MORE


The State(s) of Distributed Solar — 2020 Update

The State(s) of Distributed Solar — 2020 Update

Maria McCoy

March 16, 2021

How much of the U.S. solar fleet is made up of smaller, distributed sources that help communities build wealth locally? This 2020 update examines the size of state solar markets and their corresponding shares of distributed and community solar systems.READ MORE


Voices of 100%: Hanover Residents Raise Hands for Renewable Energy — Episode 125 of Local Energy Rules

Voices of 100%: Hanover Residents Raise Hands for Renewable Energy — Episode 125 of Local Energy Rules

Maria McCoy

March 10, 2021

For this Voices of 100% episode of Local Energy Rules, host John Farrell talks with Hanover, N.H. Sustainability Director April Salas about coalition building, taking action in a small town, and slowing down to achieve goals the right way.READ MORE


Should Big Utilities Pay for Their Bad Choices? — Episode 124 of Local Energy Rules

Should Big Utilities Pay for Their Bad Choices? — Episode 124 of Local Energy Rules

Maria McCoy

February 24, 2021

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules podcast, republished from ILSR’s Building Local Power podcast, host John Farrell and guest Leslie Glustrom discuss utility accountability and how to equitably transition to clean energy.READ MORE