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This bi-weekly podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance shares powerful stories of local renewable energy, from mayors discussing their city’s commitment to 100% renewable energy to tales of innovative community owned solar to questions about the the best rooftop solar policy. Join host John Farrell, the director of the Institute’s Energy Democracy Initiative, as he asks if the 100-year-old monopoly market structure for electricity delivery makes sense in an on-demand, distributed ...
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The Florida Legislature removed local control of Gainesville’s century-old municipal utility, but Commissioner Bryan Eastman explains how the city plans to take it back. | Show page available: https://ilsr.org/articles/public-power-ballot-florida-ler221/| Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast episodes at our site: https://ilsr.org/energy/…
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Jani Hale and Liz Veazy from Solar United Neighbors explain how the Solar Help Desk aids consumers and how the group organizes people to fight for solar rights. | Show page available: https://ilsr.org/article/solar-help-desk-agenda-free-ler220/ | Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast episodes at our site: https://ilsr.org/energy/local-ene…
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Shelley Welton discusses why utilities cannot be trusted to coordinate their electricity transmission plans and how an independent planning authority could step in where federal regulators have floundered. | Show page available: https://ilsr.org/articles/crashing-utility-transmission-planning-party-ler219/ | Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules …
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Toyah Callahan and Zach Greene discuss how the SolSmart technical assistance platform supports local governments as they streamline their solar permitting, inspection, and zoning processes, making it easier for residents to go solar. | Show page available: https://ilsr.org/cities-simplify-rooftop-solar-ler218/ | Listen to all of our Local Energy Ru…
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Leah Stokes and Tim Hade on Climate Resilience in California — Episode 217 of Local Energy Rules
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Tim Hade and Leah Stokes discuss how, through the coordination of a virtual power plant, distributed energy generation and storage will provide resilient and affordable electric power to a vulnerable area of Santa Barbara County. | Show page available: https://ilsr.org/stokes-hade-climate-resilience-california-ler217/ | Listen to all of our Local E…
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John Farrell summarizes ILSR’s recent report, Upcharge: Hidden Costs of Electric Utility Monopoly Power, and makes the case for restoring competition to the electricity system. | Show page available: https://ilsr.org/how-monopoly-utilities-abuse-power-ler216/ | Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast episodes at our site: https://ilsr.org/l…
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Doug Kantor discusses why the electric vehicle charging market must be competitive, rather than controlled by utilities, and why convenience stores are particularly suited to provide vehicle fueling wherever customers are. | Show page available: https://ilsr.org/the-cost-utility-controlled-vehicle-charging-ler215/ | Listen to all of our Local Energ…
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Bracken Hendricks discusses how Working Power, a community development and financing platform, helps community-based organizations retain ownership of clean energy projects and the financial benefits of clean energy investment. | Show page available: https://ilsr.org/financing-platform-solar-ownership-ler214/ | Listen to all of our Local Energy Rul…
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Jeremy Kalin discusses the evolution of federal tax incentives for renewable energy and how the direct pay provision of the Inflation Reduction Act will deliver more financial benefits to cities, counties, and nonprofits. | Show page available: https://ilsr.org/solar-incentives-direct-pay-ler213/ | Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast ep…
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Out of the legislative fight over the nuclear plant next door, Prairie Island Indian Community is building its own net zero energy future, on part three of our special series, Seven Hundreds Yards. | Show page available: https://ilsr.org/articles/700-yards-pt3-seven-generations-ler212/ | Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast episodes at o…
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In part two of our special series, Seven Hundred Yards, we find out why the nuclear waste “temporarily” stored on Prairie Island is still there 30 years later. | Show page available: https://ilsr.org/articles/700-yards-pt2-pretend-democracy-ler211| Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast episodes at our site: https://ilsr.org/local-energy-r…
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Seven Hundred Yards Pt. 1: A Small Island in the Mississippi — Episode 210 of Local Energy Rules
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Prairie Island community members and experts explain how powerful players allowed a nuclear plant to be built less than 700 yards away from the Native Nation, in part one of our special series, Seven Hundred Yards. | Show page available: https://ilsr.org/articles/700-yards-pt1-small-island-ler210/ | Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast e…
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Advocating for a distributed, democratized clean energy transition involves a never-ending series of legal and regulatory battles. For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell is joined by Mariel Nanasi, executive director of New Energy Economy. They discuss New Energy Economy’s efforts before lawmakers, regulators, and cou…
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A community-owned clean energy project has a lot more to offer than just electricity. For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell is joined by Christina Hollenback, CEO of Justice Capital, and Joseph McNeil, CEO of SAGE Development Authority. They discuss how SAGE Development Authority has created a model for community-led…
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DTE Energy is not meeting Ann Arbor’s needs for reliable, renewable electricity. Could a municipal takeover be the answer to residents’ pleas? For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell is joined by Gregory Woodring, the president and founder of Ann Arbor for Public Power. They discuss the ways that investor-owned utility…
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Local solar offers relief from exorbitant electric rates, but San Diego may need a different utility business model to see dramatic savings. For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell is joined by Dorrie Bruggemann and Bill Powers, Campaign Coordinator and Campaign Chair of the Power San Diego ballot initiative. They disc…
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An April election could make an Arizona utility accountable to all of its customers. For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell is joined by Charlie Fisher, Executive Director of Arizonans for a Clean Economy. They discuss the upcoming Salt River Project election and how clean energy advocates could flip the public utilit…
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Technology is outpacing laws and regulations in the energy industry, too. For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell is joined by Michael Murray, President of Mission:data Coalition. Murray explains the many capabilities of smart meters, his critique of a Rhode Island utility proposal to expand advanced metering, and how …
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Coordinated grid services benefit virtually everyone — with the exception of utility shareholders. For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell is joined by Chris Rauscher, Head of Grid Services and Virtual Power Plants at Sunrun. Sunrun has partnered with utilities to reward their residential customers who dispatch electri…
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Monopoly utilities give distributed energy advocates little time to celebrate their victories. For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell is joined by Pouya Najmaie, Policy and Regulatory Director at Cooperative Energy Futures. They discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Minnesota’s community solar program, its many regu…
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Petitioners Ask Feds to Investigate Utility Abuses of Monopoly Power — Episode 201 of Local Energy Rules
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Monopoly energy utilities have accrued vast service territories and extraordinary financial power — which they have used to purchase political power. At this point, state regulatory and legislative bodies can only do so much to rein them in. In this episode from the Local Energy Rules archive, host John Farrell speaks with Howard Crystal and Liz Ve…
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Local Energy Rules is celebrating a milestone! For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell reflects on 10 years of making the podcast, what he has learned from over 200 guests, and answers some listener questions. Listen to the full episode and explore more resources below — including a transcript and summary of the conver…
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With a little help from utilities, home energy upgrades can pay for themselves. For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell is joined by Matt Flaherty, Director of Building Decarbonization at Clean Energy Works. They discuss the barriers to home energy upgrades, how inclusive utility investment is a scalable solution that …
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Can for-profit gas utilities be trusted to plan their own stagnation? For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell is joined by Ben Kuebrich, Public Advocate for the Alliance for a Green Economy. They discuss New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, what to expect when gas utilities do their own decarboni…
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Utilities regularly spend millions of dollars to get their way. When their monopoly status is on the line, they pull out all of the stops. For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell is joined by Lucy Hochschartner, Deputy Campaign Director for Pine Tree Power. They discuss how public power would have been an improvement o…
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This is a defining moment for rural communities and the clean energy transition. For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell is joined by Frances Sawyer, founder of Pleiades Strategy, and Maria McCoy, researcher at ILSR. They discuss ILSR’s new report on rural electric co-ops and how federal dollars can meet the growing mo…
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Lynne Kiesling explains why allowing incumbent monopolies into new markets is too big of a risk for innovation and the public interest, particularly in the context of Xcel Energy’s major electric vehicle charging proposal.… Read More由Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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Steve Fenberg discusses Colorado’s Senate Bill 291, which changed incentives in the investor-owned utility business model to protect Colorado consumers from high fossil fuel costs and protects captive customers from paying for the utility to lobby against their own interests.… Read More由Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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Ben Inskeep discusses Indiana’s backward solar policy, why local solar is a threat to utilities, and how to go up against the powerful entrenched interests of monopolies.… Read More由Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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Sachu Constantine explains the obstacles and opportunities arising for the electric grid as customers become generators and what California got wrong in its 2022 net metering decision.… Read More由Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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Seth Handy explains how utilities have, through loopholes in federal guidance and friends on public regulatory bodies, protected their own interests at the expense of clean energy projects.… Read More由Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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