Local Energy Rules

More than 80 U.S. cities have now made commitments to reach 100 percent renewable energy with deadlines set in the 2030s or beyond. Of these, few have secured ambitious policies and funding sources that will help them reach these goals and center equity in the decision-making process, however. A unique campaign in Portland, Oregon, illustrates a new tool for cities considering a transition to 100 percent renewable energy. In our fifth episode of Voices of 100%, a multi-part series of Local Energy Rules, Alan Hipólito, director of Verde, a local environmental and social justice nonprofit organization based in Portland, Ore., speaks with co-director of ILSR and Energy Democracy initiative director John Farrell about the Portland Clean Energy Initiative, a ballot measure coming in this November’s midterm elections. On November 6th, voters in Portland will decide the fate of this “first-of-its-kind“ initiative. The proposed policy could raise $30 million annually through a surcharge levied on big business to he

Over 80 U.S. cities have now made commitments to reach 100 percent renewable energy with deadlines set in the 2030s or beyond. Though not all have considered which implementation strategies, including both policies and programs, will help them reach these goals. With a population of close to 500,000 people, Atlanta is the economic center of one of the country’s largest metropolitan areas and the largest city in the state of Georgia. It is also a regional leader in the pursuit of clean energy, making its pledge in 2017 to transition to 100 percent renewable energy in both its municipal operations and citywide by 2035. Since Atlanta made its formal commitment to renewable energy, the city’s Office of Resilience has worked with local partners to assess the city’s current energy outlook, engaged countless community members and groups, and developed a Clean Energy Atlanta Plan, detailing possible implementation strategies to reach its goal. Megan O’Neil is the Energy Programs Manager for the City of Atlanta, wh

Over 70 cities have made commitments to reach 100 percent renewable energy, but only a few have made substantial progress toward achieving these goals that often have deadlines set in the 2030’s or beyond. With a population of just over 1.4 million people, San Diego, the country’s eighth largest city and the second largest in California, is also one of the largest to make a pledge to transition to 100 percent renewable energy. Drawing on a unique policy tool allowing cities to choose their electricity supply and the area’s enviably abundant solar resources, San Diego is well on its way to developing a clear pathway for how to reach its goal. Cody Hooven is the Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of San Diego, where she coordinates sustainability planning and policy, with emphasis on economic development. During the third episode in our multi-part Voices of 100% podcast series, Hooven recently spoke with ILSR’s Energy Democracy director, John Farrell about San Diego’s 100 percent pledge and the steps t

What if your savings account could enable clean energy investments from insulation to solar to electric vehicles? Starting this summer it can. Blake Jones is the Volunteer Board Chair of the newly launched Clean Energy Credit Union. The brainchild of Amicus Solar, an installer cooperative, the online-only Clean Energy Credit Union is dedicated to financing the clean energy future. It provides loans for home insulation, solar, electric vehicles, and electric bikes and more. Its nonprofit mission is to illustrate that money-saving clean energy investments should get low-cost financing. John Farrell, director of the Energy Democracy Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, spoke with Blake in July 2018 about the launch of the Clean Energy Credit Union. https://ilsr.org/a-new-credit-union-aims-to-lower-the-cost-of-clean-energy-episode-59-of-local-energy-rules-podcast/

Across the country, more than 50 cities of all sizes have adopted goals to generate 100% of their electricity from renewable resources. While the growing number of these commitments is an encouraging sign, few cities have created a clear pathway to achieve their goals. To learn more, we started asking folks why these commitments matter and how cities will follow through on their promise to transform the local energy system. You are listening to an episode of Voices of 100%, a new multi-part series from the Institute for Local Self Reliance’s Local Energy Rules podcast, where we’re speaking with local leaders from across the country to understand their reasons for pursuing a 100% renewable energy goal, how their city plans to achieve that goal and what these visionaries see as the future of local, renewable energy. https://ilsr.org/articles/georgetown-texas-voices-of-100-podcast/

Shiloh Temple, a church two miles from downtown Minneapolis, serves more than just the spiritual needs of the community. After a recent update to its roof, this church in North Minneapolis now serves some of the community’s energy needs, as well. The church roof is covered with solar panels that Cooperative Energy Futures, an energy efficiency and community-owned clean energy cooperative, designed as the first of their many community solar projects. At 200 kilowatts, these panels will power the temple and 20 homes that have subscribed to the project. Plus, thanks to the vision of Cooperative Energy Futures, the panels have done more than provide a source of clean energy — they have created jobs, trained local workers for these jobs, and above all, they tell an inspiring story about the power of democratizing our energy system. In May, John Farrell visited the solar garden and interviewed Timothy DenHerder-Thomas, general manager of Cooperative Energy Futures. The two discussed final stages of the project, t

As consumers, we all want choice: the freedom to decide our own best interests and where our dollars go. In the energy sector, however, there are not always options to choose from. Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) frees communities to collectively choose their energy supplier. In Ohio, one city is stretching its freedom to choose even further. Residents of Athens, Ohio, just passed a carbon fee ballot initiative that will add 0.2 cents per kilowatt hour to electricity costs for CCA members. This first-of-its-kind carbon fee proposal, drafted by the non-profit UpGrade Ohio, will support installation of solar on public buildings and provide more resources for public investment. In 2017, the city of Athens published the Athens Sustainability Action Plan. It includes concrete and immediate goals for sustainability, such as reducing residential/municipal energy use 20% by the year 2020. Supporters believe the carbon fee will contribute to this goal, as well as driving investment in renewables. On this episode

In 2013, we hosted an inaugural conversation with Anya Schoolman about her neighborhood solar project then called the Mount Pleasant Solar Cooperative, and the early stages of her journey fighting for local climate solutions and distributed solar. Back then, the cooperative Schoolman helped organize was already known nationwide for helping dozens of homeowners work together to go solar in their Washington, D.C., neighborhood by establishing group or bulk purchasing programs, for example, while simultaneously organizing these residents to fight for better solar policies. https://ilsr.org/articles/from-the-archive-anya-schoolman-executive-director-of-solar-united-neighbors-episode-55-of-local-energy-rules-podcast/

In 30 states, communities and individuals have no choice for their electricity provider. Instead, states have granted monopolies to electric companies in exchange for sometimes inadequate oversight of public regulatory commissions. As a final accountability check, however, cities have often retained the power to take over the utility and run it as a public service. Andy Johnson and Joel Zook with Decorah Power, an effort in the small town of Decorah, Iowa to put the public back in public utility. https://ilsr.org/articles/ballot-initiative-shapes-iowa-towns-fight-for-local-power-episode-54-of-local-energy-rules-podcast/

For this episode of Local Energy Rules, we head to the archive, replaying our interview with South Miami mayor Philip Stoddard. In this conversation from April 2018, we discussed South Miami’s fight for renewable energy against a resistant monopoly utility and Stoddard’s own drive to lead by example with solar. Since the episode aired, Mayor Stoddard made the news by doing exactly as he set out to do years ago: taking himself off the grid and proving that solar works in Florida. Using his rooftop solar, electric car, and two Tesla Powerwall batteries, Stoddard went off the grid for a week in March of 2019. Stoddard is walking the walk, not only for the economic benefits of energy independence, but also for the security it provides during hurricane season. https://ilsr.org/articles/south-miami-a-bright-spot-for-solar-in-sunshine-state-episode-53-of-local-energy-rules-podcast/

More than 50 U.S. cities have made commitments to reach 100 percent renewable electricity, many inspired by Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 campaign and the cost-effectiveness of solar and wind power. But how do communities build the political will to adopt such goals, and how do they plan to meet them? In San Diego, the answer to both is the exercise of local authority. In particular, the city is taking advantage of the state’s community choice energy law to take over selecting where the city’s residents and businesses get their electricity. Nicole Capretz is the executive director of the Climate Action Campaign and former staffer to the San Diego mayor during the creation of the city’s climate action plan. Capretz recently spoke with ILSR’s director of Energy Democracy, John Farrell, about the city’s adoption of a 100% renewable electricity goal, and the struggle against the incumbent electric utility company for control of the journey toward that goal. https://ilsr.org/articles/getting-san-diego-ready-for-1

In October 2017, John Farrell gave a keynote address to the annual meeting and expo of AERO, a Montana organization with a similar mission of empowering communities to promote a sustainable economy. He addressed the widespread opportunity for clean energy in Montana, the shared desire of communities to capture that growing economic opportunity, and three ways communities can get started. https://ilsr.org/articles/video-how-communities-use-clean-energy-to-build-local-power-alternative-energy-resources-expo/

It’s no secret that electric vehicles have gone mainstream. From quarter to quarter, U.S. sales numbers consistently hover near or above record levels. Cities are trading in their gas-powered fleet vehicles and buses. And major auto manufacturers are planning for an electrified future. But the shift toward electric vehicles means more than cleaner, greener transportation. It offers an opportunity to build out new infrastructure in a way that supports local economies and a pathway to bolstering local renewable energy, all while generating meaningful cost savings for drivers nationwide. https://ilsr.org/articles/local-energy-benefits-electric-vehicles-episode-51-of-local-energy-rules-podcast/

A citizen-led effort to establish in a city-run electric utility in the small northeast Iowa community of Decorah is picking up steam, with advocates — including some local officials — forecasting significant local economic growth powered by the transition. Decorah, with about 8,000 residents, is tucked in the northwest corner of Iowa just south of the Minnesota border. It’s best known as home to Luther College, but as in the rest of the region, the agriculture industry is also significant. Decorah also has a rich tradition of self-reliance, including when it comes to the energy economy. Decorah Power, the group behind the municipalization push, estimates that as much as $100 million in countywide energy spending funnels out of the community each year to the existing investor-owned utility, located some 150 miles away in Madison, WI. A locally run utility would ensure those resources instead remain in the local economy, while also providing a path to a more dynamic clean energy future. https://ilsr.org/art

The combination of falling prices and rising interest put rooftop solar on a strong trajectory. But even as solar goes mainstream, it’s tough for consumers to tell which installer, which panels, and which financing is right for them. There has been little transparency in solar pricing, and consumers without technical expertise have a tough time shopping around. It’s a barrier to widespread solar adoption that gnaws at Vikram Aggarwal, and one he’s trying to fix through his online solar-shopping platform, EnergySage. https://ilsr.org/articles/declare-energy-independence-with-solar-just-shop-around-first-episode-49-of-local-energy-rules-podcast/

Experts predict a dramatic transformation of the U.S. transportation system will take hold in the coming decade. Karl Popham, who manages emerging technologies and electric vehicles at Austin Energy, expects major disruption too, fueled mainly by a distinct shift in how drivers view auto ownership. For decades, the marketplace has nurtured a “single-car ownership” model, built around the idea that every adult driver wants to own a vehicle. But the popularity of carshare services like Zipcar and Car2Go, as well as ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, suggest a fundamental fracture in that longstanding framework. https://ilsr.org/articles/amid-ev-surge-austin-eyes-a-new-way-of-doing-business-episode-48-of-local-energy-rules-podcast/

An innovative group purchasing program in Boulder County, Colorado, put hundreds of electric vehicles on local roads and sparked the addition of more than 1 megawatt of rooftop solar in its first two years. Now, the initiative is a springboard for efforts nationwide to allow consumers to seize control of their clean energy future. The Boulder County project was the first in the country to offer dual incentives for integrating electric vehicles and rooftop solar. It started as part of an ongoing push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, taking specific aim at transportation, a major contributor of harmful pollutants. To date, it’s paying off — and in more ways than one. In addition to bringing more clean energy technology online, the program’s financial benefits for the community far outpaced its costs, Brad Smith, the county’s Sustainability Outreach and Education Specialist, recently told ILSR’s John Farrell. The county spent just $650 on marketing and outreach, a miniscule price for the gains it has seen.

Is the U.S. on the cusp of a clean energy revolution that will fundamentally change how we live, work, and get around? That’s exactly what entrepreneur and lecturer Tony Seba argues in his book, Clean Disruption of Energy and Transportation. His multi-pronged predictions include: all new energy will be provided by solar or wind, all new mass-market vehicles will be electric, and all of these vehicles will be self-driving or semi-autonomous — by 2030, or maybe sooner. Seba explained his breathtaking vision in a recent conversation with John Farrell, who leads the Energy Democracy Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. He pointed to a series of factors, including falling energy storage costs and fast-moving innovation in the auto and renewables industries, that he says will reinvent day-to-day life in America. https://ilsr.org/articles/will-all-new-vehicles-be-electric-by-2030-one-expert-says-yes-episode-46-of-local-energy-rules-podcast/

Fast-improving technology and growing consumer interest continue to put momentum behind the clean energy transition. Unlike utilities and other industry players that have largely ignored growth opportunities as market dynamics shift, a coalition of independent solar companies is harnessing its combined power to command more influence in the marketplace. Amicus Solar Cooperative formed in Colorado in 2011, an outgrowth of increased demand for solar services in communities across the U.S. The idea was simple: crafting group purchasing agreements to allows independent solar companies to aggregate their buying power in order to purchase materials at a better rate — putting them on par with big-name rivals like SolarCity and Sunrun. https://ilsr.org/articles/working-together-small-solar-firms-compete-with-big-name-rivals-episode-45-of-local-energy-rules-podcast/