Read reactions to this piece here If you follow the renewable energy industry and haven’t been sleeping, then you’ve probably heard about one of the few pieces of federal legislation purported to help clean energy that’s actually moving: expanding Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) to cover wind and solar energy. (H.R.1696) This is not a good thing. … Read More
GreentechSolar, May 29, 2013 In 2012, Germany’s big four utilities — EnBW, E.ON, RWE, and Vattenfall — produced 75 percent of the country’s power, but were responsible for only 5 percent of renewables investments, as depicted by a graph from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR). Regional and municipal utilities owned another 7 percent of German … Read More
A friend at Fresh Energy generously called me the “architect” of Minnesota’s new solar energy standard (signed last week), and although that may be a bit generous, I’d like to provide a detailed description of the nation’s newest solar energy standard. The topline: 1.5% solar standard for the state’s investor-owned utilities (with some exemptions) for a … Read More
Globe Net, May 27, 2013 The U.S.-based Institute for Local Self-Reliance has published an informative review of Ontario’s buy local” Feed-In Tariff (FIT) program. Launched in 2009, the Ontario program “promised to deliver hundreds of megawatts of new renewable energy and create 50,000 new jobs by the end of 2012. The Institute states the program has … 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
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
Courtesy of Craig Morris and the Germany Renewable Energy industry, evidence that Germany’s renewable energy program remains people powered. Total megawatts represent wind and solar only.
