Local Energy Rules

What exactly is energy democracy, and how will we achieve it? The Institute for Local Self-Reliance is seeking an answer to this complex question, but we are far from the only folks doing so. ILSR shares this space with the Energy Democracy Project, which came together in 2016. With editors Denise Fairchild and Al Weinrub, they published a book on the subject in 2017, Energy Democracy: Advancing Equity in Clean Energy Solutions. The book illustrates what energy democracy looks like in practice. On this episode of the Local Energy Rules podcast, host John Farrell speaks with Denise Fairchild, President of the Emerald Cities Collaborative, about Energy Democracy. As co-editor of the book, Fairchild helps explain the concept of energy democracy to Farrell for a recent episode of ILSR’s Building Local Power podcast, republished in a slightly shorter version for Local Energy Rules. https://ilsr.org/articles/the-environment-the-economy-and-equity-denise-fairchild-ler-83/

Cleveland was once the center of the oil refining industry – and the environmental pollution that accompanied it. Can an economy born of fossil fuels rise from the ashes, promote renewables, and proceed to an equitable and clean-powered future? For this episode of our Voices of 100% series of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell spoke with Jocelyn Travis, Campaign Manager for the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign in Cleveland. The two met in Milwaukee at the RE-AMP annual meeting to discuss Cleveland’s landmark commitment to 100% and how the city can make it to this goal in an equitable way. Listen to the full episode to learn how Travis and the Ready for 100 network are taking action to support local, clean energy, and explore more highlights and resources, below — including a transcript and written summary of the conversation. https://ilsr.org/articles/cleveland-ohio-voices-of-100-podcast/

In 2011, the neighborhoods of Highland Park, Mich. went dark. The utility company had repossessed streetlights to collect on the city’s debt. Unwilling to stand idly by, the people of Highland Park organized to light the streets themselves using off-grid, renewable energy. In this episode of Local Energy Rules, host John Farrell speaks with Maria Thomas, Outreach and Organizing Coordinator for Soulardarity. The two discussed energy democracy, and Soulardarity’s work in Highland Park, live in Milwaukee at the RE-AMP annual meeting. Highland Park, home to the first Ford Model-T assembly line, is suffering from economic downturn. As industry departed, the Detroit suburb shrank – along with its tax base. This left the city indebted to the monopoly utility company, DTE energy. To collect on this debt, without any notice, the utility pulled more than a thousand streetlights from residential areas. Listen to the episode to hear how the community fought back against monopoly power, and see the episode notes and tra

What gives the suburbs of Philadelphia an edge over the central city in making commitments to 100% renewable energy? For this episode of our Voices of 100% series of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell speaks with Meenal Raval, a leader in the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Thanks to organizing from this campaign, 16 suburbs surrounding Philadelphia have made formal, community-wide commitments to transition to 100% renewable energy. Despite its revolutionary roots, however, the core city has not yet set a citywide commitment. This conversation digs into what actions and policies are needed to implement local clean energy solutions that will help Philadelphia and communities in the larger metropolitan region gain independence from dirty energy and an incumbent, centralized utility model. https://ilsr.org/articles/philadelphia-pa-voices-of-100-podcast/

How does a small city in southeastern Iowa plan to achieve energy independence and join the more than 100 cities across the country that are working toward ambitious goals to generate their electricity from renewable resources? For this episode of our Voices of 100% series of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell spoke with Chris Ball, Community Development Director for the town of Bloomfield, Iowa. Bloomfield is a small town in southeastern Iowa with a population of about 2,600 people, aging homes, and its own municipal electric and gas utilities. At the urging of the town’s residents, Bloomfield is now pursuing ways to expand energy independence and reduce their reliance on imported energy by investing in solar, energy efficiency, and more. Listen to the full episode to learn how the town is taking action to support local, clean energy, and explore more highlights and resources, below — including a transcript and written summary of the conversation. https://ilsr.org/articles/bloomfield-iowa-vo

Can an island economy overcome hurricane devastation to seize the opportunity for energy democracy? Ingrid Vila is an engineer and director of Cambio, a Puerto Rico based nonprofit. In a coalition called Queremos Sol – we want sun – Ingrid works with many other organizations on the island and off to prioritize community-owned, local renewable energy. Nearly two years after Hurricane Maria destroyed the island’s electrical grid, an influx of federal recovery dollars may provide the catalyst to rebuild the island’s economy by reimagining its grid, starting with solar on rooftops and local energy storage. In this May 2019 interview, ILSR’s Director of Energy Democracy, John Farrell, and Ingrid discussed the enormous opportunity, and the pitfalls the island must avoid to seize its chance for energy democracy. Listen to this conversation and explore more highlights and resources, below — including a transcript. https://ilsr.org/articles/using-disaster-to-build-a-new-democratic-energy-paradigm-episode-78-of-local

How can an island rebuild its electric grid in a way that boosts the local economy? In September 2017, Hurricane Maria caused a devastating and historic blackout in Puerto Rico. The months of efforts to reconnect customers were hampered by the public utility’s bankruptcy, and control of the island’s financials by a federal oversight board. Marcel Castro Sitiriche, Professor of electrical engineering and Co-director of Cohemis at the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez, joined me in April 2019, to discuss the limits of the island’s resilience, and what it can do to rebuild better for everyone. https://ilsr.org/articles/rebuilding-puerto-rico-electricity-episode-77-local-energy-rules-podcast/

How can a small town in Minnesota on the North Shore of Lake Superior match the ambition of large cities like Minneapolis or San Diego in the quest for 100% renewable energy? For this episode of our Voices of 100% series of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell spoke with Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux, mayor of Grand Marais, Minnesota. Grand Marais is a small community of roughly 1300 people, whose climate commitments were driven by activism among the town’s youth. With a city-owned utility, Grand Marais is now charting a course to reduce their reliance on imported energy while reducing their carbon footprint. Listen to the full episode to learn how the town is taking action to support local, clean energy, and explore more highlights and resources, below — including a transcript of the conversation. https://ilsr.org/articles/grand-marais-minn-voices-of-100-podcast/

In early 2014, John Farrell, director of ILSR’s Energy Democracy initiative, hosted a conversation with Mariel Nanasi, executive director of New Energy Economy, about how the city of Santa Fe’s incumbent and monopoly electric utility Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) was failing to take advantage of the city’s abundant local, solar resources, while residents pushed the city and utility to implement more local climate solutions and distributed solar. Today, New Energy Economy and residents of Santa Fe continue to push for local, clean energy and greater control over the city’s energy future. Still, their earlier efforts outlined in this episode reveal important strategies communities can take organize a campaign for public ownership. Listen to this episode, and explore more highlights and resources, below — including a transcript of the conversation and more updates about what has happened in Santa Fe between then and now. https://ilsr.org/articles/archive-rerelease-mariel-nanasi-sante-fe-solar-epis

Why are garbage incinerators such a bad deal for communities? In this episode of the Local Energy Rules podcast, host John Farrell speaks with Marie Donahue, ILSR researcher, and Neil Seldman, Director of ILSR’s Waste to Wealth Initiative, about the harmful impacts of burning trash to generate electricity. The three spoke for a recent episode of the Institute’s Building Local Power podcast, reproduced here. The conversation dives into ILSR’s late-2018 report Waste Incineration: A Dirty Secret in How States Define Renewable Energy, highlights the harmful impacts of burning trash to generate electricity, and outlines what steps cities like Baltimore are taking to shut down these dirty facilities and build a healthier, local clean energy future. https://ilsr.org/articles/garbage-incinerators-episode-74-local-energy-rules-podcast/

How can a community close a coal plant and produce clean electricity, respect the needs of its community members, and provide a just transition for power plant workers? A successful, multi-year campaign by community members in Holyoke, Mass., to address air pollution and related public health impacts from the coal-fired Mount Tom Power Station and push for clean energy provides a powerful model. As a new video about this campaign by the Toxics Action Center shows, community efforts were instrumental in closing the nearby plant. The campaign didn’t stop there, however. It pushed for initiatives to help plant workers transition into new careers or retirement and to develop a new solar and energy storage facility to replace the plant. In this episode of Local Energy Rules, ILSR’s Energy Democracy Initiative director John Farrell digs into this story with Lena Entin, deputy director of the Toxics Action Center and board member (as well as former community organizer) of the grassroots, Latinx-led economic justi

Clean energy policy is sweeping the states in 2019, with numerous bills setting targets of 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2050. While these climate-friendly policy proposals have many advocates excited, some utility companies also see them as a golden opportunity. With advocates laser-focused on climate instead of how renewable energy is deployed and by whom, utility shareholders can win rich rewards by locking in ownership of billions of dollars of new clean energy infrastructure at a hefty price premium to customers. Mariel Nanasi, executive director of New Energy Economy in New Mexico, joined ILSR’s Director of Energy Democracy, John Farrell, in March 2019, for a new episode of the Local Energy Rules podcast, to discuss the state’s proposed Energy Transition Act and its big giveaways to one of New Mexico’s incumbent monopoly utilities, PNM. The two also discussed the pitfalls of state policy that ignores how rooftop solar and other distributed energy offer huge opportunities to share the wealth o

The city of Boulder, Colo., is one of more than 100 cities across the country that has adopted an ambitious goal to transition to one hundred percent renewable energy. A small city on the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Boulder has long been a national leader in the pursuit of clean and renewable energy and made a community-wide commitment in 2016 to supply all of its electricity from renewable sources by the year 2030. For this episode of our Voices of 100% series of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell spoke with Jonathan Koehn, Boulder’s Regional Sustainability Director, in September 2018 to learn more about what has motivated the city’s commitment to renewable energy and what strategies it is pursuing to ensure a vibrant, local, and resilient clean energy future. https://ilsr.org/articles/boulder-colo-voices-of-100-podcast/

In the face of gridlock and inaction at state and federal levels, what tools do cities have to take the lead on local, renewable energy? In this episode of the Local Energy Rules podcast, John Farrell, director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s Energy Democracy Initiative, is joined by Minneapolis City Councilmember Jeremy Schroeder, who has been a vocal leader in city hall on local energy and climate solutions. The two spoke for a recent episode of the Institute’s Building Local Power podcast, which we have recut here, to highlight the city’s unique partnership with its incumbent utility and what other tools the city is using to address climate change locally. https://ilsr.org/articles/jeremy-schroeder-episode-70-local-energy-rules-podcast/

What does it take to build a community solar project (with battery storage) in a small town in northern Minnesota when the monopoly wholesale energy company tells your small city-owned utility to “lawyer up”? Bill Schnell is the lead volunteer with the Itasca Clean Energy Team, a small group of active citizens in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, working to secure a community solar project for the town. He spoke with John Farrell, ILSR’s director of energy democracy, in January 2019, about building community support for the project and overcoming the objections of Minnesota Power, the electricity supplier to the small town’s city-owned utility. https://ilsr.org/articles/small-minn-community-david-v-goliath-community-solar-episode-69-local-energy-rules-podcast/

The city of Madison, capital of Wisconsin and sustainability leader in the Midwest, is one of more than 100 cities across the country committing to shift to 100 percent renewable power. But with a hometown utility––investor-owned electric company Madison Gas & Electric––that produces three-quarters of its electricity from coal, it’s path is steeper than most. Local leader Raj Shukla, chair of the city’s Sustainable Madison Committee and candidate in the city’s spring mayoral election, spoke with John Farrell in August 2018, to discuss the city’s push to carbon-free power. In this episode of Voices of 100%, Shukla and Farrell discuss how the relationship between the city and its utility evolved and specific strategies that will help the city reach its ambitious goal. https://ilsr.org/articles/madison-wis-voices-of-100-podcast/

Co-director of ILSR and Energy Democracy initiative director John Farrell and research associate Marie Donahue sat down before the winter break to reflect on what they are describing as the “Year of 100” — a landmark year for 100 percent renewable energy commitments in 2018. In this special year-end episode of the Local Energy Rules podcast, Farrell and Donahue recap the many ambitious renewable energy commitments made by states, utilities, and cities, this year. The two discuss what we can learn from these resolutions and how to ensure benefits from the clean energy transition remain both local and equitable. Tune in for highlights from 2018 and a lively discussion about what is on horizon for local, renewable energy in 2019. Find a transcript and summary of the conversation below. https://ilsr.org/articles/year-of-100-local-renewable-energy-2018-episode-67-local-energy-rules-podcast/

Rural communities formed rural electric cooperatives as a way to get energy where no one else would provide it. In the 21st century, some cooperatives have found an additional economic benefit in pursuing local renewable energy. In the cases of Farmers Electric Cooperative in Iowa and Kit Carson Electric Cooperative in New Mexico, it’s a desire that’s risen from the member-owners up to the leadership. In this episode of Local Energy Rules (recorded in mid-2018), John Farrell and a few listeners ask questions of the manager and CEO of each cooperative: Warren McKenna of Farmers Electric Cooperative and Luis Reyes of Kit Carson Electric Cooperative. These cooperatives have jumped far ahead of their peers in pursuing clean, local energy in a win-win for the cooperative and its members. https://ilsr.org/articles/rural-electric-co-ops-overcome-barriers-to-clean-local-energy-episode-66-of-local-energy-rules-podcast/

Nearly 100 U.S. cities have formally adopted ambitious commitments to power their communities with 100 percent renewable energy by deadlines set in the 2030s or beyond. Among those communities, many large cities have made high-profile commitments and garnered significant media attention. Fewer small communities are well-known for setting these goals. Abita Springs, however, has claimed the title of the first community in Louisiana and among a select number of towns its size nationwide committed to a 100% renewable energy future. Located in St. Tammany Parish, the community is home to only a few thousand people. Following successful organizing efforts by the volunteer-led Abita Committee for Energy Sustainability (ACES) in collaboration with and supported by the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign team, Abita Springs’ mayor and town council unanimously adopted a resolution in 2017 to provide the city with electricity from renewable sources by 2030. In our sixth Voices of 100% episode as part of the Local E

How does a growing, national nonprofit organization help homeowners complete the circle between clean energy ownership and policy advocacy? ILSR’s Energy Democracy Initiative director John Farrell talks with Anya Schoolman of Solar United Neighbors in this October 2018 recording about two major clean energy policies before the Washington, D.C., city council. Support for the policies comes from the advocacy efforts of many residents enabled by Solar United Neighbors to become solar owners by banding together, a model that has spread to over 10 states. https://ilsr.org/articles/solar-co-ops-support-clean-energy-advances-in-d-c-episode-64-of-local-energy-rules-podcast/