Local Energy Rules

Even as solar goes mainstream, it’s tough for consumers to tell which installer, which panels, and which financing are right for them. It’s a gap that Vikram Aggarwal says could hold back steep growth potential for rooftop solar. And it’s one he’s trying to fix through his online solar shopping platform, EnergySage.

Experts predict a dramatic transformation of the U.S. transportation system will take hold in the coming decade. Karl Popham, who manages emerging technologies and electric vehicles at Austin Energy, expects major disruption too, fueled mainly by a distinct shift in how drivers view auto ownership.

For decades, the marketplace has nurtured a “single-car ownership” model, built around the idea that every adult driver wants to own a vehicle. But the popularity of carshare services like Zipcar and Car2Go, as well as ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, suggest a fundamental fracture in that longstanding framework.

https://ilsr.org/articles/amid-ev-surge-austin-eyes-a-new-way-of-doing-business-episode-48-of-local-energy-rules-podcast/

Amid an onslaught of innovation that is lowering the cost of electric vehicles and propelling self-driving technology forward, the City of Austin is charting a transportation future that factors in electrification, autonomous vehicles, and the sharing economy. We explore how the city’s municipal utility is helping to lead the charge.

An innovative group purchasing program in Boulder County, Colorado, put hundreds of electric vehicles on local roads and sparked the addition of more than 1 megawatt of rooftop solar in its first two years. Now, the initiative is a springboard for efforts nationwide to allow consumers to seize control of their clean energy future.

The Boulder County project was the first in the country to offer dual incentives for integrating electric vehicles and rooftop solar. It started as part of an ongoing push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, taking specific aim at transportation, a major contributor of harmful pollutants. To date, it’s paying off — and in more ways than one.

In addition to bringing more clean energy technology online, the program’s financial benefits for the community far outpaced its costs, Brad Smith, the county’s Sustainability Outreach and Education Specialist, recently told ILSR’s John Farrell. The county spent just $650 on marketing and outreach, a miniscule price for the gains it has seen.

https://ilsr.org/articles/boulder-county-incentive-program-drives-adoption-of-two-sexy-electrics-solar-and-electric-cars-episode-47-of-local-energy-rules-podcast/

Boulder County, CO accounts for less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the U.S. population, yet it’s home to a surprisingly high proportion of U.S. electric vehicle sales. We explore how this community catalyzed its clean energy economy.

Is the U.S. on the cusp of a clean energy revolution that will fundamentally change how we live, work, and get around?

That’s exactly what entrepreneur and lecturer Tony Seba argues in his book, Clean Disruption of Energy and Transportation. His multi-pronged predictions include: all new energy will be provided by solar or wind, all new mass-market vehicles will be electric, and all of these vehicles will be self-driving or semi-autonomous — by 2030, or maybe sooner.

Seba explained his breathtaking vision in a recent conversation with John Farrell, who leads the Energy Democracy Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. He pointed to a series of factors, including falling energy storage costs and fast-moving innovation in the auto and renewables industries, that he says will reinvent day-to-day life in America.

https://ilsr.org/articles/will-all-new-vehicles-be-electric-by-2030-one-expert-says-yes-episode-46-of-local-energy-rules-podcast/

Author Tony Seba speaks with host John Farrell and explains why the U.S. energy system could be drastically different — with all new energy generated by renewables and all new mass-market cars running on electricity — by 2030.

Fast-improving technology and growing consumer interest continue to put momentum behind the clean energy transition. Unlike utilities and other industry players that have largely ignored growth opportunities as market dynamics shift, a coalition of independent solar companies is harnessing its combined power to command more influence in the marketplace.

Amicus Solar Cooperative formed in Colorado in 2011, an outgrowth of increased demand for solar services in communities across the U.S. The idea was simple: crafting group purchasing agreements to allows independent solar companies to aggregate their buying power in order to purchase materials at a better rate — putting them on par with big-name rivals like SolarCity and Sunrun.

https://ilsr.org/articles/working-together-small-solar-firms-compete-with-big-name-rivals-episode-45-of-local-energy-rules-podcast/

Fast-improving technology and growing consumer interest continue to put momentum behind the clean energy transition. Unlike utilities and other industry players that have largely ignored growth opportunities as market dynamics shift, a coalition of independent solar companies is harnessing its combined power to command more influence in the marketplace. Amicus Solar Cooperative formed in Colorado... Continue reading

New Hampshire, home to some of the highest utility costs in the nation, could be fertile ground for community energy projects that promote lower-cost, renewable generation — especially after investors in one shared solar array pioneered a strategy to promote greater local ownership.

Regulatory and legal roadblocks forced solar advocates in Keene to develop a comprehensive framework for adding a 43-kilowatt rooftop array to Monadnock Food Co-op, whose focus on sustainability and downtown location made it a natural partner. Still, when the group began exploring its options in 2013, community shared renewables represented unfamiliar territory in the Granite State.

Without a blueprint from other local projects, the group — led by community members — got to work. Peter Hansel, an investor in the project and part of its steering committee who helped develop its model, recently spoke with ILSR’s John Farrell about how it all came together.