2 Mar 2017

Arkansas Utility Leads on Energy, Broadband

by | Date: 2 Mar 2017 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Ouachita Electric Cooperative, nestled deep in south-central Arkansas, is an unlikely innovator in a pair of industries struggling to adapt to shifting market dynamics: electricity and broadband.

Despite rising demand for energy efficiency and renewable electricity generation, large investor-owned utilities — and many rural electric co-ops — have resisted programs to address those needs. Likewise, corporate Internet service providers frequently offer shoddy service at high rates, a particular problem in rural areas with limited competition.… Read More
18 Oct 2016

Co-op Power Puts Localist Spin on Clean Energy Economy

by | Date: 18 Oct 2016 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

New England is well known for pacesetter legislation that has made it a clean power leader, but the region also boasts a showpiece example of community-scale coordination — separate from the action in statehouses and city halls — that taps into renewables to buoy local economies. This is part of a series released in October 2016 … Read More
2 Jul 2016

Liberty and the Farm: Internet Access

by | Date: 2 Jul 2016 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The 4th of July invites us to celebrate the accomplishments of our country. But, 23 million people in rural areas remain without high-speed Internet access. Rural areas cannot stay unconnected. Agriculture has become a high-tech endeavor, and high-speed Internet access is necessary. Cooperatives, those democratic institutions formed by rural farmers years ago, are becoming an answer. … Read More
23 May 2016

Being Black Still a Barrier to Rural Cooperative Board Membership

by | Date: 23 May 2016 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Exempt from state regulation in 33 states because they purportedly offer democratic and local control, new data on the nation’s rural electric cooperatives suggests that skin color is still a major barrier to their democratic representation.… Read More
13 Jan 2016

Just How Democratic are Rural Electric Cooperatives?

by | Date: 13 Jan 2016 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Randy Wilson knew you had to start somewhere. Knocking on doors and hanging around retail store parking lots, he and volunteers from the citizen group Kentuckians for the Commonwealth collected signatures. After weeks of holding out clipboards, they collected the more than 500 signatures needed to run for the board of the Jackson Energy Cooperative in … Read More
28 Sep 2015

Did FERC Just Smash the Biggest Roadblock to Clean, Local Power for Electric Co-ops?

by | Date: 28 Sep 2015 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Because they only sell 11% of the country’s electricity and they largely overlap politically conservative areas, electric cooperatives are often the forgotten stepchild of the clean energy movement. But with 7 of the top 10 dirtiest power systems (as measured by carbon intensity) and territory that overlaps some of the best renewable energy resources in the country, electric … Read More
30 Jul 2015

Democratic Energy Media Roundup – week of July 27, 2015

by | Date: 30 Jul 2015 | posted in: Energy | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

This week in Democratic Energy: Activists rally against Massachusetts Net Metering caps New York’s energy vision inspires others Minnesota city puts solar on the map Featured Stories Questions to ponder as the future electric grid takes shape by Quentin Karpilow, Green Biz You can read ILSR’s submission here!   Regulations putting a limit on solar projects … Read More
7 May 2015

Beyond Utility 2.0: Part 3 “The Future”

by | Date: 7 May 2015 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Unfortunately for utilities, new technology and commercial opportunities in the coming years will only increase the threat to the 1.0 business model. Solar energy is growing exponentially as costs have fallen 28% per year from 2009-2013, and electricity from rooftops is approaching or passing parity with utility prices.63 This is the third of four parts of ILSR’s … Read More
22 Apr 2015

Beyond Utility 2.0: Part 1 “A Prelude to the Future”

by | Date: 22 Apr 2015 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The U.S. electricity system is undergoing the biggest change in its 130-­year history. The scale of electricity generation is rapidly shrinking, from coal and nuclear power plants that can power a million homes to solar and wind power plants that power a few to a few hundred nearby homes. Electricity demand has leveled off, so that … Read More

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 … 13