Reports and Resources

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

States do not need to seek energy imports to meet their renewable energy goals.  Almost the entire country west of the Mississippi and parts of the Eastern Seaboard (a total of 31 states) can serve all their electricity needs with in-state renewable power. 

Every state in America could reach its renewable mandate with domestically available renewable resources.  
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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

There's a renewable energy policy with a record of incredible success, so why aren't we using it in America?  This paper briefly explores the history of feed-in tariffs (FITs) in Europe - the rise and fall of this policy in Denmark and the rise and rise of FITs in Germany - and then outlines why it would be a much simpler, more cost-effective, and better economic driver for reaching America's renewable energy goals.  More

A new and widely publicized study claims that there is no evidencethat Wal-Mart has had a negative impact on the small business sector. Aclose inspection of the study by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance,however, found fatal flaws. More

This report, jointly authored with George Crocker of the North American Water Office and Michael Michaud of Matrix Energy Solutions, examines the implications that two recent distributed generation studies in Minnesota may have on the need for building new high-voltage transmission lines in the state. The authors conclude that project over a certain size be compared to alternative ways sufficient power transfer capability for dispersed renewable electricity generation may be available on the existing grid or with relatively modest, strategic enhancements to the existing grid system to meet the Minnesota's 2025 renewable energy goal without building major new 345 kV transmission facilities. More

How much energy could be generated by states tapping into internal renewable resources? This November 2008 report by David Morris and John Farrell presents preliminary data that suggests that at least half of the fifty states could meet all their internal energy needs from renewable energy generated inside their borders, and the vast majority could meet a significant percentage. More

Originally published in 1982, we're making this book available as a free download since many of its discussions are as relevant today as they were 25 years ago. The first half discusses the century-long struggle by cities to gain autonomy and authority from state governments and create their own planning and service delivery capacities. The second part describes the first urban-based localization movements and the successes and challenges. As a standalone document, we've also included the new foreword and the book's last chapter, The Ecological City given the current revived debate about the subject.

This August 2008 report by David Morris and John Farrell was sponsored by the Ford Foundation. The next 20 years could generate as much as $1 trillion in new renewable energy investment in rural America. The report is a policy roadmap for states and the federal government that would redesign policies to encourage a highly decentralized and dispersed renewable energy industry that is significantly locally owned. Doing so would multiply the number of rural areas that benefit from burgeoning renewable energy industries, and would create a sustainable asset whose wealth and revenue will largely remain in revived local communities and regions. More