Energy News

Eastern States Resist Paying for Delivery of Midwest Wind Power

jbailey — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:43:29 -0600

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.

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

jfarrell — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:48:25 -0600

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.

John Farrell Explains the Benefits of Decentralized Energy on KBOO

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:36:07 -0600

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.

Britain Moves Feed-in Tariffs to a Whole New Level

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:16:23 -0600

In a truly groundbreaking move for the English-speaking world, Britain's Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) has released a full suite of renewable energy tariffs that go into effect in April. Britain will become the first country in the world to offer a comprehensive system of tariffs for renewable heat, including tariffs for solar domestic hot water and ground-source heat pumps among others.

Support New Rules! Consider A Year End Donation Today!

admin — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 11:23:51 -0600

Since 1974, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance has been working to enable communities with tools to increase economic effectiveness, reduce wastes and negative environmental impacts and provide for community ownership of the infrastructure and resources essential for community well-being. To our donors and partners, your support is more important than ever this year. Thank you for joining us as we work towards a prosperous future built from the bottom up. Click to make a contribution online! Thanks!

Support ILSR TODAY and Multiply Your Contribution

admin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:21:47 -0600

Today you have a unique opportunity to help ILSR as part of a one-day fundraising program sponsored by a group of Minnesota foundations that will provide matching funds to ILSR for all donations made online at GiveMN.org. This means if you donate $100, the foundations will make an additional contribution to ILSR - up to a dollar-for-dollar match depending on how much is donated across the spectrum of nonprofit organizations. Please help us by donating here.

President’s Smart Grid Grants are not a Transmission Superhighway, Thankfully

jfarrell — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:59:33 -0500

There’s good news and bad news in President Obama’s announcement Wednesday of 100 grants totaling $3.4 billion to build a smarter electric grid. The good news is the grants. The bad news is that President Obama continues to conflate the need for a smart grid with the need for a new national high voltage grid.

Satellite photos of Austin, TX, show it could meet its peak demand with rooftop solar

jfarrell — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:34:15 -0500

A satellite scan of Sunbelt city Austin, TX, revealed that there's enough unshaded rooftop to power the entire city during peak demand on hot, summer afternoons.

John Farrell Interviewed on Etopia News on 2nd Issue of Energy Self-Reliant States Report

jfarrell — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:42:15 -0500

In this 20 minute discussion, John Farrell discusses the updated and expanding edition of his report, Energy Self-Reliant States, that explains how states can overwhelmingly meet their electricity needs with in-state renewable resources.

California Governor Doesn't Favor Domestic Renewables, but his Energy Commission Makes More Sense

jfarrell — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:34:27 -0500

Schwarzenegger, citing concerns with protectionism, plans to veto the legislature's ambitious 33% RPS by 2020 because it prizes in-state generation. But the California's Energy Commission found in its Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative (RETI) that there's not much savings to be had looking outside California's borders.