Energy

Welcome to the New Rules Project's section on energy issues. We like to refer to this sector of rules and news as Democratic Energy to reflect the debate between energy centralists and energy decentralists, between those who favor absentee ownership and regulation and those who favor local ownership and control. Energy heats our homes, lights our offices, powers our industries and fuels our vehicles. Today the energy sector is undergoing a profound transformation. Governments at every level are changing the rules. Meanwhile, technological innovations are making it increasingly possible to think about a more decentralized and environmentally benign energy system. Democratic energy means an energy system where the consumer can become a producer, where power plants are located near where the energy is consumed, and where the decisions about the structure of the energy system is made in large part by those who will feel the impact of those decisions.

The rules in this sector will follow closely four pillars of Democratic Energy: Decentralizing Authority and Control, Decentralizing Capacity, Protecting the Environment and Protecting People.

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

Why Does the Much-Touted Climate Bill Look Like It Was Stolen From the Republican Playbook?

By David Morris on June 6, 2009

Most environmental leaders and Democratic Party officials argue that we should support the Waxman-Markey carbon cap and trade bill (American Clean Energy Security Act) no matter how imperfect because it represents an important small step forward. In this commentary by David Morris, he concludes that the bill would be acceptable if it was stripped of its cap and trade provisions. Retaining the cap and trade provisions and he sees it as a giant step backwards that may well hobble further progress in federal efforts to combat climate change for years to come. 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]

Indian tribe creates own electric utility

June 8, 2009

The St. Regis Mohawk tribe again proves that it is cheaper to build your own power plant than to buy electricity from utilities. More

SD Sets Interconnection Rules for Distributed Renewable Energy Projects

May 29, 2009

The state Public Utilities Commission has made it easier for small power generators 10 MW and under to get their renewable energy flowing onto the electric grid.

Called the South Dakota Small Generation Interconnection Rules, the recent decision simplifies who can connect to the electric grid and how. It allows electric customers to be producers, too, by connecting clean energy systems such as solar panels and wind turbines to the grid. Next is a legislative review hearing. Barring changes, the interconnection rules will become law June 9.

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

ILSR's Minnesota Carbon Tax Shift Archives

In the 1990s, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and other energy activists in Minnesota undertook an effort to get Minnesota to adopt a billion dollar "tax shift" that would have raised the cost of energy while reducing taxes on income and/or property. ILSR was integrally involved in the design of the legislative proposal and examined the impacts on various sectors of Minnesota's economy. Below you will find the archive of the materials that were prepared to support the initiative. Over several years, the proposal was debated extensively but never enacted into law. More

The Energetics of Ethanol: An Introduction and Link to Studies

Does it take more energy to make ethanol than is contained in ethanol? That question continues to haunt the ethanol industry even after nearly 30 years of expanding production. Over the years more than 20 scientific studies have examined the question. This document contains links to the major studies of the subject completed during the last decade or so. More

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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]

If it's citizens vs. utilities, utilities win

By David Morris on April 24, 2009

The PUC has an approval process that stacks the deck against the public.

A few days ago the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved a massive high voltage transmission project (known as CapX) that will cost Minnesotans an amount equal to the projected biennium state budget deficit and four times the total bill to taxpayers for the Gopher and Twins stadiums. More

Distributed Renewables Can Defer Infrastructure Investments

April 22, 2009

This recent article by the Manager of EPRI published on EnergyCentral.com discusses how conventional photovoltaic (PV) applications can act as distributed resources when the sun is shining -- rather than solely as a reduction in load. They also can help diversify supply portfolios and meet other goals. The most basic scenario is for utilities to aggregate grid-connected PV installations owned by others and to treat them as demand-side resources. More

Presentation on the Ethics of Sustainability

By David Morris on April 19, 2009

David Morris spoke on Earth Day to the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis on ethics. He began with some definitions:

Ethics is a set of moral values and standards that guide our conduct. Those moral values and standards are not the same in all societies. Our own country offers an excellent example. Indeed, we consider our history and culture so unique that our leaders often use the term American Exceptionalism to describe our economic and social niche. More

Four Decades of ILSR Research on Democratic Energy Now Available

President-elect Barack Obama is making “a new energy economy” his “No. 1 priority.” He has an historic opportunity not only to change the fuel composition of our energy system but to change the very scale and structure of our energy system. For more than 34 years, scale issues related to energy production have been a primary research focus of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. We believe that research can help inform today’s activists and policymakers. To that end, we’ve converted our largely typewritten early reports and books into a 21st century format for on-line reading and downloading. More

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