Energy

Federal Stimulus Cash Grant Gives Boost to Locally Owned Wind Power

August 3, 2010

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The credit crisis may have crimped commercial wind turbine installations, but the economic stimulus cash grants in lieu of tax credits have given new life to community wind projects.  More

Lenders Have it Wrong and PACE Advocates Should Fight Back

By John Farrell on July 7, 2010

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued guidance yesterday that drew a line in the sand against municipal energy financing, a.k.a. Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs.  These innovative initiatives provide energy efficiency retrofits for homeowners that are repaid through a property tax assessment.  Since homeowners falling behind on payments must repay their PACE assessment before their mortgage, giant lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will consider participating households in default on their mortgages for receiving an energy efficiency retrofit via PACE.  Their rationale is paper thin. More

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Won't Allow PACE liens

July 2, 2010

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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have told federal regulators and plan to release additional guidance indicating that the senior lien status of PACE liens is not acceptable.  This declaration comes despite recent articles highlighting the minimal impact of PACE liens on the lenders' balance sheets, White House and DOE support for the program, and the 23 states who have enabled Property Assessed Clean Energy Financing. More

Energy Self-Reliant States Get A Boost From New Federal Study

June 3, 2010

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A new study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) reinforces the findings of a 2009 report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR).  The ILSR report, Energy Self-Reliant States, concluded that all 50 states could generate at least 25 percent of their electricity needs from in-state renewable energy while 31 could generate over 100 percent.  More

John Farrell on This Week in Energy talking about PACE municipal energy financing

May 20, 2010

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On episode 24 of This Week in Energy, John Farrell discusses PACE, oil spills and smart grids with hosts Bob Tregilus and Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield.
More

PACE Municipal Energy Financing: Designing State Policy

May 19, 2010

What lessons have we learned from early PACE programs and what does that mean for designing good state enabling legislation?  Learn more from this webinar presentation by ILSR Senior Researcher John Farrell to the NGA Center for Best Practices.
More

David Morris Discusses the BP Gulf Oil Spill and Impacts on Minnesota


29:52 minutes (6.22 MB)David Morris joins Curtis Beckmann on Minnesota This Week, a program by Radio City Network News, to discuss the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and its impacts on Minnesota.  Additionally, they discussed the past and future of transportation fuels.  More

Municipal Energy Financing: Lessons Learned

Published May 2010
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Twenty states now allow cities and counties to finance energy efficiency retrofits and on-site renewable energy generation and repay the loan with a property tax assessment. Five municipalities launched Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs in the past two years and these programs have spent $37.5 million to help enable close to 2,000 voluntary residential retrofits.  Read on to see how these programs have performed and what upcoming municipal energy finance programs should consider. More

Municipal Energy Financing: Lessons Learned [pdf]

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) makes partners of solar PV and energy efficiency

By John Farrell on April 19, 2010

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Property assessed clean energy (PACE) does not make energy efficiency the enemy of solar PV.  Instead, it helps optimize the use of solar PV for participating property owners so that an optimally sized solar PV array that is partially paid for through the energy savings from efficiency improvements.  More

Should Renewable Energy Standards Be Met With In-State Resources?

April 12, 2010

A legislative proposal in Connecticut would cut their existing renewable portfolio standard nearly in half but prioritize in-state generation.  Backers of the rollback say that renewable energy is mainly bought from outside the state to meet the current standard. The change in the RPS boosts financing tools for in-state power as part of the plan.  One interesting quote, "we want projects, not simply percentages." More

Responding to Concerns with Municipal Financing of Energy Improvements

Published April 2010
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As municipal financing for energy improvements (commonly called Property Assessed Clean Energy - PACE) rises in popularity, criticism has also arisen.  This short memo responds to the most common concerns with PACE financing.  The memo is also provided as a 1-page pdf.
More

ILSR response to PACE concerns.pdf [pdf]

The State of the States: Power From the People

By John Farrell on March 15, 2010

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In the absence of federal action, states are leading the way toward renewable energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and empowering local communities to be more energy self-reliant.  This presentation to the Environmental Grantmakers Association highlights the model policies for moving forward.

More

Eastern States Resist Paying for Delivery of Midwest Wind Power

March 10, 2010

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A coalition of utilities have announced their opposition to a series of 765-kilovolt transmission lines, more than double the capacity of the current 345-kilovolt lines. The lines are proposed as a way to send electricity from the Dakotas, Iowa and Minnesota to Chicago and points east. "If Iowa wants to build a transmission line for their energy, we have no objection. But Iowa or the Midwest should pay for it," said Ian Bowles, secretary of energy and environmental affairs in Massachusetts.  New England states want to produce their own wind energy from offshore farms. More

New Wind Data Finds a Windier, More Self-Reliant Midwest

March 3, 2010

Five Midwest states (Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio) could get nearly all their electricity from wind, according to updated maps from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR). New data from Wind Powering America mean that 32 states could get all of their electricity from in-state resources, even more than initially revealed in ILSR's ground-breaking report last fall, Energy Self-Reliant States. The revised estimates come from the National Renewable Energy Lab's Wind Powering America project and are the first nationwide update since the early 1990s. More

John Farrell Explains the Benefits of Decentralized Energy on KBOO

February 24, 2010

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The Obama administration's energy policy jumps the shark: why nuclear is a bad deal and carbon-captured coal is anything but clean.  Senior Research John Farrell discusses this and the smarter strategy of a decentralized renewable energy future with KBOO host Bill Resnick.

The rules we make now will decide our energy future.  Listen to the interview here. More

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