St. Peter, Minn., home to 11 thousand people, is nestled within the verdant hills of the Minnesota River Valley. The town was originally intended to be the state capital of Minnesota, until a legislator named “Jolly” Joe Rolette nabbed the bill and hid it from the governor’s awaiting signature. Unflappable, the city would play its own part in … Read More
This week in Energy Democracy: The story of a Microgrid in Brooklyn, learning how ComEdison took aim at a solar power law in Chicago, and, finally, another week, another set of ballot initiatives on the solar energy debate. Featured Stories: Sharply higher rooftop solar potential increases potential for energy self-reliance by John Farrell, CleanTechnica A Microgrid … Read More
This report explores the opportunity of community renewable energy to enable energy democracy, examining the benefits and barriers, barrier-busting policies, powerful examples, and how cities and cooperatives can lead the way.… Read More
This week Ed Marston, former board member of the Delta-Montrose Electric Association in western Colorado, joins John Farrell on Local Energy Rules to talk about the electric cooperative world. He highlights the good, the bad, and what his and other cooperatives are doing to spur clean energy investment in a region that so desperately needs local economic development.… Read More
A project of the Energy Democracy Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Local Energy Rules is a biweekly podcast produced by Energy Democracy Director John Farrell and Researcher Maria McCoy (formerly Marie Donahue, Karlee Weinmann, and Matt Grimley), along with audio engineer Drew Birschbach. Cover art is by Maria McCoy. We share stories of communities taking on concentrated … Read More
This week in Energy Democracy News: A survey of energy cooperatives in America. Minnesota clean energy partnership receives national recognition. Solar energy debate heads to Maine. Featured Stories: Breaking the macro-barriers to microgrids by Matt Grimley, CleanTechnica Minneapolis clean energy partnership receiving national recognition by Frank Jossi, Midwest Energy News What you need to know about … Read More
Electric cooperatives, member-owned organizations that sell electricity to those within their service area, are perhaps the nation’s largest group of utilities that could champion clean, local power. They tend to cover enormous swaths of the most rural territory, often with excellent wind and solar resources. In one manner of renewable energy, cooperatives are leading the fray: … Read More
Communities all over the country are finding ways to break the macro barriers to microgrids. As we flip from a top-down to bottom-up grid management structure, major policy barriers must be lifted in order to expand energy democracy to customers and producers.… Read More
This week in Energy Democracy: Palo Alto, California considers a new solar contract under $40 per megawatt hour. Rural electric cooperatives start getting into solar. Big Ohio utilities are prompting the ire of citizens. Featured Stories: FirstEnergy, AEP deals in Ohio prompt 55K protest emails by The Toledo Blade To lease or to own: simplified solar … Read More
