Electricity

A New Outside-the-Beltway Climate Bill Deserves Support; Why Won't Enviros Get Behind It?

By David Morris on December 27, 2009

Cap and Trade is one approach for limiting our global warming pollution but there is a different climate change proposal in Congress called the CLEAR Act. It's simple, deserves to be looked at closely and looks to be the start of a winning alternative to the complicated system of cap and trade. More

Electric Vehicle Policy For the Midwest – A Scoping Document

Published December 2009

This December 2009 report was prepared for the RE-AMP network (120+ organizations in eight Midwestern states). The scoping report outlines and makes recommendations on a variety of policy issues related to expanding electric vehicles. The report illustrates the relationships between electric vehicles and other GHG reduction strategies such as fuel economy standards (CAFE), low carbon fuel standards (LCFS) and efforts to reduce vehicle miles traveled. Because of their energy storage capability, electrified vehicles will also play an increasingly important role in the expansion of renewable energy and the future elaboration of smart grid technologies. More

Full Report: Electric Vehicle Policy for the Midwest - A Scoping Report (PDF) [pdf]

Municipal Energy Financing Efforts Push Renewable Energy Development and Efficiency

July 13, 2009

In the last 12 months a new and very promising strategy for local energy self-reliance has emerged, and it spreading like a prairie fire: direct public financing of energy efficiency and renewable energy investments by private businesses and households. ILSR has been closely tracking these developments and has brought together information about individual programs and the laws and ordinances that have enabled them (view our Map and see the various Municipal Energy Financing rules).
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East Coast Governors Say National Transmission Grid Limits Local Energy

June 25, 2009

On May 4th, 2009, Governors from 10 East Coast states sent a sign-on letter opposing the current House & Senate bills to expedite transmission line planning and siting. The states that signed onwere Virginia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont. The letter argued against a greater federal subsidy for long-distance transmission, stating that the focus should be on more local renewable generation, such as off-shore wind along the East Coast. More

California may miss 33% RPS target due to focus on centralized generation

June 16, 2009

In a nutshell: On paper, California could meet its targets, provided it can afford and build $12 billion in new transmission lines and higher electricity costs. In reality, the state probably won’t make the target, concludes the California Public Utilities Commission in its latest analysis of the state’s clean-energy quest... More

Community Choice Aggregation: An Update

Published June 2009

Community Choice Aggregation lets cities and counties select their own electricity provider, prioritize renewable energy and encourage conservation, without having to own the utility or the power lines. It has expanded in California, and this paper provides an update on this innovative policy. For years, the U.S. has been served by four forms of electric utility: investor-owned, cooperative, municipal, and federal (e.g. Tennessee Valley Authority). This list is changing. More

Community Choice Aggregation - An Update [pdf]

Payback Time - Feed in Tariffs Work (video)

May 27, 2009

A 10-min video on Germany's rewarding feed-in tariff renewable energy program

Energy Smart Miami - A possible model for smart grid and DG

May 19, 2009

Mayor Manny Diaz recently unveiled an ambitious, $200 million "Energy Smart Miami" smart grid project developed in partnership with General Electric, Cisco Systems, Florida Power & Light and Silver Spring Networks to ultimately deploy smart meters on every home and most businesses in Miami-Dade County. In addition to smart meters, the project aims to install solar power systems on several schools and universities, add 300 plug-in hybrid vehicles to the city's fleet, and bring a series of new technologies like home energy use dashboards, smart appliances and smart-meter thermostats to pilot programs in 1,000 city homes. More

David Morris speaks on the Challenge of Going Green in a Recession

By David Morris on April 27, 2009

On Sunday, April 26, David Morris addressed a crowd hosted by the DFL Education Foundation, on the challenges of developing renewable energy in a time of economic turmoil. His remarks follow:

I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this distinguished audience this evening. My charge is to address the question, “Can We Be Green in a Recession?” Or as the teaser for this meeting puts it, can we be green without green? More

David Morris presentation to DFL Education Foundation 4-09.pdf [pdf]

CapX Transmission Line Decision Ignored Current Economic Realities

April 17, 2009

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) and the North American Water Office (NAWO) find today's decision by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to approve nearly $2 billion in ratepayer money for 650 miles of new high voltage transmission lines (known as CapX) to be willfully shortsighted. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission's decision represents a slap in the face to Minnesota ratepayers and deals another setback for building a homegrown, decentralized energy future. More