Tax Change Deters Rural Co-ops From Expanding Internet Access

Date: 9 Nov 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

For many rural Americans, the local electric or telephone cooperative is their best hope for finally obtaining modern-day connectivity. With the support of government funding, rural cooperatives have brought electricity, telephone service, and more recently broadband access to some of the most rugged and sparsely populated places in the country.… Read More

Monopoly Power and Network Neutrality

Date: 7 Dec 2017 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The FCC is scheduled to decide the fate of Internet access on Thursday, Dec 14. Will anyone anywhere in the U.S. be able to pay one basic fee to access information on the Internet from the most popular to the most arcane content providers? If all indications are correct, probably not. ISPs will increasingly decide on what … Read More

ILSR Submits Multiple Federal Communications Commission Comments Supporting Local Internet Choice

Date: 30 Oct 2017 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

This fall, we’ve submitted multiple comments to the Federal Communications Commission supporting local Internet choice and remaining critical of concentrated power in the hands of large telecom companies.… Read More

Fiber for Key Industrial Areas Coming to Somerset County, Pennsylvania

Date: 6 Oct 2017 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Over the past several decades, the population of Somerset County, Pennsylvania, has incrementally jumped up and down, but today’s population is the same as it was in 1960. In order to boost economic development and encourage growth with more jobs, community leaders are deploying fiber for better connectivity in several industrial areas. Financial Help For Fiber Connectivity In … Read More

California’s Reserve Fund Won’t Lift the FHFA Boot From PACE’s Neck

Date: 15 Jul 2014 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 2 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Earlier this year, the state of California announced a $10 million loan-loss reserve to solve the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s severe restrictions on using property-tax based financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy on residential property. It’s a great concept, but evidence from on of California’s best property assessed clean energy (PACE) programs suggests the reserve should … Read More

Is Solar Cheaper Than Grid Electricity? Yes. And No.

Date: 15 Jul 2013 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 6 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The word “parity” is to the solar advocate as the word “abracadabra” is to the magician.  Through it, all things are possible.  But there’s really two kinds of solar parity with electricity prices, and the difference is significant. Take this article from Renewable Energy World last month.  It claims that solar installations in New Mexico are … Read More

A Community Solar Gold Standard – Episode 9 of Local Energy Rules Podcast

Date: 17 May 2013 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, Podcast | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Joy Hughes was living in the San Luis Valley of Colorado, a place with a “tremendous amount of solar potential,” so good that the valley’s residents were being overwhelmed by proposals for large scale solar power plants. One had a “field of things like radar dishes” and another included a “600 foot tower.” The influx of outside companies seeking solar profit led Joy to ask, “Why not just set up solar arrays that can provide power for people in the local community and offset their electric bills?”… Read More

600 Investors in South Dakota’s Premier Community Wind Project – Episode 7 of Local Energy Rules Podcast

Date: 18 Apr 2013 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, Podcast | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In April 2013, John Farrell spoke to Brian Minish, CEO of South Dakota Wind Partners about a community wind project that attracted over 600 local investors.  The project was the brainchild of four state organizations rooted in rural South Dakota–the East River Electric Cooperative, South Dakota Farm Bureau, South Dakota Farmers Union and South Dakota Corn Growers. Hoping to broaden ownership in a wind farm project proposed by Basin Electric in Crow Lake, these groups worked with Brian to figure out how to add local investors to the mix.… Read More

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