Local Energy Rules

Across the country, more than 50 cities of all sizes have adopted goals to generate 100% of their electricity from renewable resources. While the growing number of these commitments is an encouraging sign, few cities have created a clear pathway to achieve their goals. To learn more, we started asking folks why these commitments matter and how cities will follow through on their promise to transform the local energy system. You are listening to an episode of Voices of 100%, a new multi-part series from the Institute for Local Self Reliance’s Local Energy Rules podcast, where we’re speaking with local leaders from across the country to understand their reasons for pursuing a 100% renewable energy goal, how their city plans to achieve that goal and what these visionaries see as the future of local, renewable energy.

https://ilsr.org/articles/georgetown-texas-voices-of-100-podcast/

As a growing number of U.S. cities make commitments to reach 100 percent renewable electricity, how can cities actually achieve these goals? In this first episode of Voices of 100%, a multi-part series of Local Energy Rules,

Shiloh Temple, a church two miles from downtown Minneapolis, serves more than just the spiritual needs of the community. After a recent update to its roof, this church in North Minneapolis now serves some of the community’s energy needs, as well.

The church roof is covered with solar panels that Cooperative Energy Futures, an energy efficiency and community-owned clean energy cooperative, designed as the first of their many community solar projects. At 200 kilowatts, these panels will power the temple and 20 homes that have subscribed to the project. Plus, thanks to the vision of Cooperative Energy Futures, the panels have done more than provide a source of clean energy — they have created jobs, trained local workers for these jobs, and above all, they tell an inspiring story about the power of democratizing our energy system.

In May, John Farrell visited the solar garden and interviewed Timothy DenHerder-Thomas, general manager of Cooperative Energy Futures. The two discussed final stages of the project, the justice perspective that makes it unique, and other projects Cooperative Energy Futures has lined up.

https://ilsr.org/articles/community-solar-equity-ler-episode-57/

Shiloh Temple, a church two miles from downtown Minneapolis, serves more than just the spiritual needs of the community. After a recent update to its roof, this church in North Minneapolis now serves some of the community’s energy needs, as well. -

As consumers, we all want choice: the freedom to decide our own best interests and where our dollars go. In the energy sector, however, there are not always options to choose from. Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) frees communities to collectively choose their energy supplier. In Ohio, one city is stretching its freedom to choose even further.

Residents of Athens, Ohio, just passed a carbon fee ballot initiative that will add 0.2 cents per kilowatt hour to electricity costs for CCA members. This first-of-its-kind carbon fee proposal, drafted by the non-profit UpGrade Ohio, will support installation of solar on public buildings and provide more resources for public investment.

In 2017, the city of Athens published the Athens Sustainability Action Plan. It includes concrete and immediate goals for sustainability, such as reducing residential/municipal energy use 20% by the year 2020. Supporters believe the carbon fee will contribute to this goal, as well as driving investment in renewables.

On this episode of Local Energy Rules, Director of the Energy Democracy Initiative John Farrell speaks with UpGrade Ohio’s information and outreach director Mathew Roberts. As part of the group that designed the carbon fee initiative, Roberts was eager to talk about this and other community-led energy initiatives in Athens.

https://ilsr.org/articles/ohio-community-choice-ler-episode-56/

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

If residents of a city believe that strengthening local control, promoting the local economy, and investing in renewable energy are important, what can they do to make these things happen? One city in Ohio, already having a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) system in place, recently passed a carbon fee ballot initiative that will add 0.2 cents per kilowatt hour to electricity costs for CCA members. In the latest episode of Local Energy Rules, Director of the Energy Democracy Initiative John Farrell speaks with UpGrade Ohio’s information and outreach director Mathew Roberts. As part of the group that designed the carbon fee initiative, Roberts was eager to talk about this and other community-led energy initiatives in Athens.

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!

In 2013, we hosted an inaugural conversation with Anya Schoolman about her neighborhood solar project then called the Mount Pleasant Solar Cooperative, and the early stages of her journey fighting for local climate solutions and distributed solar.

Back then, the cooperative Schoolman helped organize was already known nationwide for helping dozens of homeowners work together to go solar in their Washington, D.C., neighborhood by establishing group or bulk purchasing programs, for example, while simultaneously organizing these residents to fight for better solar policies.

https://ilsr.org/articles/from-the-archive-anya-schoolman-executive-director-of-solar-united-neighbors-episode-55-of-local-energy-rules-podcast/

Show page available: http://www.ilsr.org/from-the-archive-anya-schoolman-executive-director-of-solar-united-neighbors-episode-55-of-local-energy-rules-podcast |

How did one group of neighbors from Washington, D.C., band together to advance clean energy locally and then build a larger movement replicating their model elsewhere? In the latest episode from the Local Energy Rules podcast archive, John Farrell, Director of ILSR’s Energy Democracy Initiative, revisits a 2013 interview with Anya Schoolman, the major force behind a unique, grassroots solar cooperative model that has since grown into Solar United Neighbors, now a national leader in distributed, cooperative solar. The two discuss effective ways to invest in solar energy and advocate for local policies to support distributed energy from the ground up—strategies as relevant in 2013 as they are today. |

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!

In 30 states, communities and individuals have no choice for their electricity provider. Instead, states have granted monopolies to electric companies in exchange for sometimes inadequate oversight of public regulatory commissions. As a final accountability check, however, cities have often retained the power to take over the utility and run it as a public service. Andy Johnson and Joel Zook with Decorah Power, an effort in the small town of Decorah, Iowa to put the public back in public utility.

https://ilsr.org/articles/ballot-initiative-shapes-iowa-towns-fight-for-local-power-episode-54-of-local-energy-rules-podcast/

Show page available: http://www.ilsr.org/ballot-initiative-shapes-iowa-towns-fight-for-local-power-episode-54-of-local-energy-rules-podcast.

What can a town do to advance clean energy locally if it is fed up with its incumbent, investor-owned monopoly utility? John Farrell, Director of the Energy Democracy Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, interviews Andy Johnson and Joel Zook, community members and local energy leaders from Decorah Power, about an important, upcoming ballot initiative in Decorah, Iowa, and the culmination of an organized, grassroots effort by residents to take back local control of their electric utility and energy future.

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!