Small Maine Town Seeks Information on Local Broadband Possibilities, References Need for Rural Internet Access

Date: 25 May 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Over the past year, towns in rural areas of Maine have mobilized and are taking steps to improve local connectivity. The latest is the community of Penobscot, where the local Broadband Committee recently released a Request for Information (RFI) to seek out firms interested in helping them bring broadband to the coastal community… Read More

Rural Maine Towns Join Forces to Build Their Own Broadband Utility

Date: 27 Apr 2018 | posted in: MuniNetworks | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

There are about 3,000 residents in Calais (pronounced “Kal-iss”) and 1,500 in Baileyville, but according to Julie Jordan, Director of Downeast Economic Development Corporation (DEDC), many of those residents are aging and younger people find little reason to stay or relocate in Washington County. The community recognizes that they need to draw in new industries and jobs that will attract young families to keep the towns from fading off the map.… Read More

Fishing for Local Power (Episode 25)

Date: 27 Jul 2017 | posted in: Building Local Power, Podcast | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

This week’s episode of Building Local Power is a great conversation with a close ally and friend of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Niaz Dorry, coordinating director of the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, sits down with hosts Christopher Mitchell and Stacy Mitchell to talk about the growing privatization of the fishing industry, how she organizes her fishing community, and the damage that large-scale fishing does to the environment and her local economy. … Read More

In New England, Cooperative Values Drive Solar Growth – Episode 41 of Local Energy Rules Podcast

Date: 21 Nov 2016 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

New England offers some of the nation’s biggest incentives for renewable energy generation, but high upfront costs and complicated financing mean many residents are still missing out on the opportunity to go solar. But one cooperative, with a series of pioneering programs, is beginning to change that. Co-op Power, headquartered in Massachusetts, has steadily built up … 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