John Farrell was recently interviewed by Barry Cinnamon for his Solar Energy Show podcast, titled “The Path to Energy Independence.” In this conversation, John and host Barry discuss the increasing availability of distributed generation of solar energy and the ways in which electric utilities are trying to keep their customers from benefitting. John argues for a change in … Read More
In April 2014, Exelon, the nation’s largest nuclear power generator, made a $6.8 billion offer for Washington D.C.-based Pepco. Exelon – which already owns Illinois ComEd and Baltimore G&E – would become the largest electric utility in the country, with nearly 10 million customers. Shareholders, federal regulators, and many state utility commissions have approved the deal. … Read More
In these remarks, made on a panel at an American Antitrust Institute event, ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell makes the case that the national thinking on antitrust has gone awry since the 1970s, when antitrust shifted away from its longstanding goal of maintaining robust competition to focus instead on efficiency and low prices.… Read More
The nature of US discussions on EPR in general and for packaging have changed significantly in the past year. The California Product Stewardship determined to focus on EPR for toxic and hard to recycle materials. The Berkeley City Council and the Global Recycling Council of the California Resource Recovery Association passed resolutions calling for public control … Read More
Complete nonsense. The most socialistic thing I’ve ever heard. That’s just two quotes from a value of solar conversation between ILSR’s John Farrell and Karl Rábago of the Pace Energy and Climate Center that took place online on July 8, 2015. More and more people are installing solar, significantly reducing their purchase of electricity from utility … Read More
Minnesota’s community solar garden program may be the envy of the nation — once the utility’s stall tactics have been stopped — but it needs a little help to fulfill the vision of bringing solar to all. That’s where Julia Nerbonne, executive director of Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light, comes in. In June 2015, John Farrell … Read More
At the beginning of June 2015, ILSR released its Public Rooftop Revolution report, which described how cities across the nation put the shine on municipal rooftops with more than 5,000 MW of solar. That 5,000 MW is as much as one-quarter of all solar installed in the U.S. to date — and many cities could install … Read More
Kansas City, MO, has neither the abundant sunshine nor high cost of electricity that have driven solar installations in other cities. Despite this, the city has close to 1.5 MW of solar in 59 separate installations on municipal properties. Thanks to utility rebates, two department leaders, and a unique opportunity that allowed it to access the … Read More
There aren’t many solar success stories from the Southeast, making Raleigh, NC, stand out in a region with low-cost electricity and modest sunshine. With just over 2 megawatts of solar on public property––providing close to 7% of municipal building peak demand––Raleigh’s solar success comes despite state rules preventing the city from buying electricity from any non-utility … Read More
