In an unexpected move, the CEO of the American Public Power Association writes in to the Boulder Daily Camera to defend publicly-owned utilities against the investor-owned utility’s attacks during a campaign by local citizens to take over the incumbent electric utility. … Read More
Two years ago, Boulder citizens voted to take over the electric utility but the incumbent monopoly is fighting back with a ballot initiative to cut off the localization effort at the knees. Local activists started a crowdfunding campaign to push back against the incumbent’s financial advantage. … Read More
When President Obama unveils his climate policy proposal in the coming days, he should focus on the one key element of successful climate and energy policy. It’s not about utilities or incentives or numbers, it’s about ownership. Climate-protecting energy policy succeeds when communities can keep their energy dollars local by directly owning and profiting from investments … Read More
Launched in 2009, Ontario’s “buy local” Feed-In Tariff (FIT) program promised to deliver hundreds of megawatts of new renewable energy and create 50,000 new jobs by the end of 2012. The program has had some notable achievements, and the province has worked hard to remedy some of the remaining roadblocks to success. The bottom line is … Read More
Ontario’s landmark “buy local” renewable energy Feed-In Tariff program launched in late 2009. After four years, the program has created thousands of jobs, helped close coal-fired power plants and made energy producers of many Ontarians. But roadblocks remain, and changes are needed. The following presentation outlines the program, its goals and accomplishments, and the barriers to … Read More
Read more in Expect Delays: Reviewing Ontario’s “Buy Local” Renewable Energy Program
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
This week John Farrell and Wade Underwood talk with Paul Spencer, President and founder of the Clean Energy Collective (CEC) in Carbondale, CO. The CEC is pioneering the process of delivering clean power-generation through medium-scale (mostly solar) facilities that are collectively owned by participating utility customers. In many ways, their community energy model is the “holy grail” because it has proven replicable in several places around the United States.… Read More
Three years ago, the prospects for Americans to own their energy future seemed relatively bleak. There were almost no replicable models for doing community-based energy projects or investment, despite falling costs and technology – solar and wind – that lend themselves to local development. But thanks to recent opportunities in community solar and crowdfunding, we may … Read More
