Local Energy Choice with Community Choice Aggregation from John Farrell A presentation by ILSR Senior Researcher John Farrell to the National Strategy Meeting of the Local Energy Aggregation Network (February 2012) on the potential for community choice aggregation policy to increase local clean energy development. For more on this policy, you may also like our … Read More
Update 12/21/12: Corrected chart. Overhead and Sales Tax had been switched in the German data column. I often get flak when I publish research on the cost trajectory for solar (e.g. my Rooftop Revolution report estimates 100 million Americans reaching grid parity by 2021). About half think I’m too conservative, and half think I’m too overconfident … Read More
Update August 7, 2012: I’d like to this this qualifies as Friedman’s response to this column. In Thomas Friedman’s latest column, he praises Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts because he “took one for the country.” Friedman sees that “America today is poised for a great renewal” if only it can get some “big, centrist, statesmanlike … Read More
This short presentation distills the definition and status of U.S. CLEAN (“feed-in tariff”) programs given in our full report. Click below to watch the slideshow. U.S. CLEAN Programs – 1.21 Gigawatts! from John Farrell You can also read the full report in PDF, or get it for Kindle, Nook, or your Apple iDevice.
A new study for the California Public Utilities Commission explores the “Technical Potential for Local Distributed Photovoltaics in California.” Basically, it’s one of the more in-depth analyses of local solar power in the country, suggesting that California has the capacity to add 15 gigawatts (GW) of local solar (20 megawatts and smaller) to its grid by … Read More
Solar Industry Magazine, June 21, 2012 Feed-in tariffs (FITs) have spurred the installation of more than three-quarters of global solar capacity. Germany’s FIT – perhaps one of the best-known programs – has led to the development of more than 50,000 MW of solar power and wind power domestically since its inception in 1990. But despite this … Read More
E&E News – Tuesday, June 19, 2012 While much of the renewable energy sector remains focused on extending federal tax credits for wind, solar and other alternative fuels, utilities and small-scale energy producers in more than a dozen states are forging ahead with programs that pay renewable energy producers a fixed rate for power they put … Read More
Back in April, President Obama signed the JOBS Act and one of the most-heralded elements was so-called crowdfunding. The law sought to solve a major problem: it’s hard to finance small-scale business ventures. Wall Street only cares about multi-million dollar plays and securities regulations make small-dollar projects rather difficult (and costly) to jointly fund. The Act … Read More
In the past five years, a new U.S. renewable energy policy has quietly grown more popular, enabling enough solar power (1.21 gigawatts!) to send Michael J. Fox “Back to the Future.” CLEAN programs – Clean Local Energy Accessible Now – have been adopted in 14 states and can significantly increase the deployment of local solar power, says a new report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR).… Read More
