If you’re like most renewable energy advocates that have interacted with a Public Utilities Commission, you probably don’t think they’re a repository of progressive policy...
For over 100 years, the American economy has been fueled by enormous expansion of fossil fuel energy. It has emitted a disproportionate share of its...
One of the biggest barriers to making investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy is the upfront cost. So what if members of rural electric...
Earlier this year, the state of California announced a $10 million loan-loss reserve to solve the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s severe restrictions on using property-tax...
With “no money down” and “zero maintenance” to attract homeowners, solar leasing has become the overwhelming favorite for residential solar installations. And with the complexity...
Being from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, I’m often asked, “You want everyone off-grid and independent with their own solar array and a battery, right?”...
The neighbors of the proposed Badger-Coulee high-voltage line in Wisconsin are like those in many other parts of the country, upset that their utility will...
The transformation taking place in the electricity system is enormous, but twofold. But most commentators – including the former FERC chair – miss half the...
What is “the value of solar” electricity? How can it be used in energy policy? And how does it differ from other policies that govern...
A powerful law in six states gives communities the power to choose their energy suppliers and direct their energy dollars toward local energy production. Two...
In this 2014 episode of Local Energy Rules, ILSR Energy Democracy initiative director John Farrell talks with Lane Sharman, co-founder and chair of the San...
I’ve been posting updates on local ownership of renewable energy in Germany since early 2011, and it’s abundantly clear that the Germans have yet to...
Solar power is at a unique place in history. It’s growing rapidly, its price is falling precipitously. Within the next 10 years, it will compete...
The Northern Mariana Islands are one of several island U.S. territories, lying three-quarters of the way from Hawai’i to the Philippines. Like most islands, their...