Minnesota’s community solar program hit 613 megawatts in September 2019, enough to power more than 100,000 homes each year or about half as much capacity as a typical nuclear power plant!… Read More
More than 100 U.S. cities have now set ambitious commitments to transition to renewable energy, but how are they making these goals a reality? In this episode of our Voices of 100% series from Local Energy Rules, Mayor Breea Clark explains what drove Norman, Okla., to make the pledge and its plans to tackle the ambitious goal.… Read More
More than 100 U.S. cities have now set ambitious commitments to transition to renewable energy, but how are they making these goals a reality? In this episode of our Voices of 100% series from Local Energy Rules, we dig into what has given 16 suburbs of Philadelphia an edge over the central city in making commitments to 100% renewable energy, and what strategies both suburbs and the city can take to make progress.… Read More
More than 100 U.S. cities have now set ambitious commitments to transition to renewable energy, but how are they working to make these goals a reality? In this episode of our Voices of 100% series from Local Energy Rules, we feature the small town of Bloomfield, Iowa, its goal of reaching energy independence, and what investments it is making to reach that goal.… Read More
New Mexico’s proposed community solar program only passed its state House this year, but the program could set a new standard for community solar in the United States. … Read More
More than 100 U.S. cities have now set goals to transition to 100 percent renewable energy, but how are they working to make these goals a reality? In a new episode of our Voices of 100% series from Local Energy Rules, we feature the small town of Grand Marais, Minn., and the strategies it is using to achieve its ambitious local, clean energy commitment.… Read More
Minnesota is the national leader in community solar, with 208 projects around the state, more than a third of all community solar projects in the U.S. The state’s community solar policy is the best, making it easy to develop and subscribe to solar power. Read more about the benefits for customers, workers, and landowners in a new report from Vote Solar, MnSEIA, and the Institute for Local Self Reliance.… Read More
Despite its pride in having the nation’s largest community solar program––shown by the massive poster on its headquarters front doors (the above photo)––Xcel Energy can often be caught complaining (erroneously) that utility-owned solar would be more cost-effective. In the following analysis, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance explains why Minnesota’s community solar program has actually saved Xcel Energy customers millions of dollars already.… Read More
In this episode of Local Energy Rules, Energy Democracy Initiative director John Farrell speaks with colleagues Marie Donahue and Neil Seldman about the harmful impacts of burning trash to generate electricity. The discussion digs into ILSR’s late-2018 report Waste Incineration: A Dirty Secret in How States Define Renewable Energy and passage of the Baltimore Clean Air Act, a policy which will help shut down the city’s highly polluting waste incinerator.… Read More
