Energy Self-Reliant States: Could Minnesota’s “Value of Solar” Make Everyone a Winner?

Last week, Minnesota’s utility regulators approved the first state “value of solar” methodology – could it make everyone a winner?

Also, I’m off to testify on a bill in Minnesota to study greater energy freedom for cities; specifically, to require a study of community choice aggregation, or as I refer to it, “municipalization lite.” (HF 2877)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to those who observe!

Sincerely,
John

Could Minnesota’s “Value of Solar” Make Everyone a Winner?On Wednesday, Minnesota became the first state to allow utilities a new method of contracting with distributed solar producers, called the market-based “value of solar.” If adopted by utilities, it will fundamentally change the relationship between solar-producing customers and their electric utility. Following Minnesota’s Value of Solar Process?…

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Five Reasons Solar’s Win Over Gas in Minnesota is Just the BeginningSolar advocates were popping corks when a New Year’s Eve ruling by an administrative law judge in Minnesota said that distributed solar arrays were a more cost-effective resource than natural gas to meet Xcel Energy’s peak power needs. The energy media were aflutter for weeks, but many missed the bigger significance. If solar trumps gas…

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John Farrell Talks Energy Decentralization on Thom Hartmann’s Big Picture

What is energy decentralization, who’s doing it, and why does it matter? John Farrell, Director of Democratic Energy, answers these questions in an interview segment with Thom Hartmann on his big picture program on February 18, 2014. Skip to 30:06 to see John’s interview.

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How Can Communities Leverage a Better Energy Future? – Episode 17 of Local Energy RulesHow can a community take control of its energy future from a 100-year monopoly electric utility? Citizens of Boulder, CO, are testing answers to that question, trying to discover how a single city can do more for its economy and the environment with more power over its energy system. At the core of their efforts… Continue reading

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Millions of People Investing in Solar – Episode 16 of Local Energy Rules

For years, the only effective way to go solar was to have tens of thousands of dollars and a sunny roof. Investing in solar was nearly impossible. But a couple years ago, a new notion called crowdfunding got its start, and California-Based Mosaic was on the forefront. Its crowdfunding program allows people to pool their…

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Democratic Energy on Tour

Staff from the Democratic Energy initiative (me) speak at events around the country. Check out the upcoming and past events on ILSR’s speakers page, or see if you’re on the list below:

February 1, 2014 – Kansas City, MO
john farrell is a special guest speaker at theMissouri Solar Energy Industries Association annual conference.

January 18, 2014 – Northfield, MN
john farrell will participate in a city-wide Climate Summit.

November 8, 2013 – Decorah, IA
John Farrell presented to the opening plenary session the 5th Conference of the Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability at Luther College, speaking about the intersection of campus sustainability and the shift toward communities taking control of their energy future. View the presentation and read the remarks.