San Francisco Strides Toward an All-Renewable Future

Date: 4 Nov 2016 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Two key moves this year will propel San Francisco’s toward an all-renewable electricity mix by 2030, potentially making the city — the 13th largest in the nation — a model for others eyeing a similar transition. This is part of a series released in October 2016 for Energy Awareness Month highlighting communities and community energy projects … Read More

Grassroots Group Promotes Local Alternatives to Wisconsin Utilities’ Big Ticket Spending

Date: 2 Nov 2016 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Wisconsin’s coal-reliant utilities remain cool to wind and solar despite mounting enthusiasm for renewables. This intransigence places them squarely in the crosshairs of one grassroots group leveraging support from customers and policymakers in order to realign the state’s energy economy with the public good. This is part of a series released in October 2016 for Energy … Read More

A Massachusetts Co-op Makes A Powerful Vintage

Date: 31 Oct 2016 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

For more than five years, Vineyard Power Cooperative has provided electricity customers living in one of Massachusetts’ best-known island communities the chance to buy into an energy future that favors renewables and bolsters their local economy. This is part of a series released in October 2016 for Energy Awareness Month highlighting communities and community energy projects … Read More

RePower Madison Challenges Old Electric Monopoly Model

Date: 28 Oct 2016 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

An unconventional approach to grassroots organizing in Wisconsin’s capital city has in recent years tipped incumbent utility Madison Gas & Electric (MGE) toward policies that favor consumers and renewables, a distinct shift in a state held back for years by entrenched monopolies with outdated business plans. This is part of a series released in October 2016 … Read More

Co-op Power Puts Localist Spin on Clean Energy Economy

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

Short-Sighted Utility Stymies Solar in Milwaukee

Date: 11 Oct 2016 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Back in 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy recognized Milwaukee as a budding leader in the movement to promote solar power at the local level. Nearly a decade later, the city’s success in promoting solar remains handcuffed by an investor-owned utility fighting progress in favor of the status quo. This is part of a series released … Read More

In Maryland, Community Solar Pioneers Offer Blueprint

Date: 7 Oct 2016 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

A pair of rooftop solar arrays in Maryland spotlight how pioneering communities can pool their resources to expand local access to renewable energy. These “community solar” projects are an increasingly popular approach as electricity customers renounce utilities’ reliance on fossil fuel and look for ways to cut their energy costs. This is part of a series … Read More

San Diego Sets Vision, Vets Options for 100% Renewables

Date: 5 Oct 2016 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Late last year, San Diego set a landmark goal that made it the largest U.S. city to target a 100% renewable electricity mix over the next two decades. But as the pact’s first anniversary approaches, big questions loom over how exactly San Diego will hit the ambitious benchmark. This is part of a series released in … Read More