Local Energy Rules

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell and guests a rebroadcast from the Building Local Power Podcast, we share a recording of ILSR’s Democratizing Power event: a conversation with advocates about how communities have challenged monopoly power through a ballot initiative, antitrust litigation, and grassroots organizing. |

Show page available: https://ilsr.org/democratizing-power-event-ler154 |

Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast episodes at our site: https://ilsr.org/local-energy-rules-podcast-homepage |

Don't forget to subscribe, share with your friends, leave a recommendation on our podcast feeds, and join the conversation online using the #LocalEnergyRules hashtag!

ILSR’s Community Power Scorecard evaluates state policies based on how they help or hinder local clean energy action — but do the grades that states receive reflect the experience of advocates on the ground?

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell speaks with Crystal Huang and Al Weinrub. Huang is a co-founder and worker owner of the People Power Solar Cooperative and the national coordinator of the Energy Democracy Project. Weinrub is the coordinator of the Local Clean Energy Alliance and a collaborator with the Energy Democracy Project. Farrell, Huang, and Weinrub discuss energy democracy challenges in California, the gap between policy and implementation, and how ILSR’s Community Power Scorecard could better represent and mobilize local organizers.

Listen to the full episode and explore more resources below — including a transcript and summary of the conversation.

https://ilsr.org/articles/promising-policies-community-power-ler153/

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell and guests Crystal Huang and Al Weinrub discuss the gap between policy and implementation and how ILSR’s Community Power Scorecard could better represent and mobilize local organizers. |

Show page available: https://ilsr.org/promising-policies-community-power-ler153 |

Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast episodes at our site: https://ilsr.org/local-energy-rules-podcast-homepage |

Don't forget to subscribe, share with your friends, leave a recommendation on our podcast feeds, and join the conversation online using the #LocalEnergyRules hashtag!

With Congress at a standstill, the prospect of federal action on climate and clean energy is looking bleak. The Center for Biological Diversity, however, is pursuing two alternatives to federal legislation: executive action and the courts.

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell speaks with Jean Su, Attorney and Director of the Energy Justice Program at the Center for Biological Diversity. Farrell and Su discuss how President Biden could foster energy independence, boost the U.S. economy, and curb climate change through the Defense Production Act. Su then shares a landmark court ruling and its implications for antitrust enforcement.

Listen to the full episode and explore more resources below — including a transcript and summary of the conversation.

https://ilsr.org/articles/defense-production-act-srp-antitrust-ler152/

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell and guest Jean Su discuss how President Biden could defend the U.S. from climate and economic harms through executive action. Su then shares a landmark court ruling and its implications for antitrust enforcement. |

Show page available: https://ilsr.org/defense-production-act-srp-antitrust-ler152 |

Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast episodes at our site: https://ilsr.org/local-energy-rules-podcast-homepage |

Don't forget to subscribe, share with your friends, leave a recommendation on our podcast feeds, and join the conversation online using the #LocalEnergyRules hashtag!

Amidst the competing challenges of the last two years, communities are still making ambitious plans to ditch fossil fuels. In 2020, Blaine County and Hailey, Idaho joined the now more than 180 cities and towns that have committed to 100 percent renewable energy.

For this episode of our Voices of 100% series of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell talks with Blaine County Sustainability Program Manager Lynne Barker and Community Organizer Scott Runkel. They discuss how a 100 percent renewable energy commitment moved forward amidst a pandemic and the options that Idaho communities have to reach a goal like this.

Listen to the full episode and explore more resources below — including a transcript and summary of the conversation.

https://ilsr.org/articles/hailey-idaho-voices-of-100-podcast/

For this Voices of 100% episode of Local Energy Rules, guests Lynne Barker, Scott Runkel, and host John Farrell discuss how a 100 percent renewable energy commitment moved forward amidst a pandemic and the options that Idaho communities have to reach their sustainability goals. |

Show page available: https://ilsr.org/hailey-idaho-voices-of-100-podcast/ |

Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast episodes at our site: https://ilsr.org/local-energy-rules-podcast-homepage |

Don't forget to subscribe, share with your friends, leave a recommendation on our podcast feeds, and join the conversation online using the #LocalEnergyRules hashtag!

A group in Morris, Minnesota — a city of 5,000 — has put together the Morris Model: a partnership and strategic plan to model how rural communities can shine in areas like clean energy and community resilience.

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell speaks with Troy Goodnough, Sustainability Director with the University of Minnesota Morris, and Blaine Hill, Morris City Manager. Goodnough and Hill were heavily involved in the Morris Model as it came together. They explain what it means to be a model community, how local and international partnerships have influenced their work, and what the future may look like for Morris.

Listen to the full episode and explore more resources below — including a transcript and summary of the conversation.

https://ilsr.org/articles/morris-model-minnesota-ler150/

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, guests Troy Goodnough and Blaine Hill join John Farrell to discuss the Morris Model. They cover how local and international partnerships have influenced their work and what it means to be a model community. |

Show page available: https://ilsr.org/morris-model-minnesota-ler150 |

Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast episodes at our site: https://ilsr.org/local-energy-rules-podcast-homepage |

Don't forget to subscribe, share with your friends, leave a recommendation on our podcast feeds, and join the conversation online using the #LocalEnergyRules hashtag!

Utilities use transmission lines to move electricity, balance supply and demand, and maintain their hold on the market.

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell speaks with Ari Peskoe, Director of the Electricity Law Initiative at the Harvard Law School (Environmental and Energy Law program). Peskoe’s recent paper “Is the Utility Transmission Syndicate Forever?” summarizes decades of give and take between the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and large electric utilities. Farrell and Peskoe discuss how utilities have gained outsized market power by owning transmission infrastructure and how federal regulators could reintroduce competition through targeted regulation.

Listen to the full episode and explore more resources below — including a transcript and summary of the conversation.

https://ilsr.org/articles/electric-transmission-market-power-ler149/