John Farrell ☀️🌬🔋 Profile picture
The guru of distributed energy, co-director @ilsr, host of Local Energy Rules, and unabashed nerd. I tweet for (energy) democracy.
☀️ Leon-Gerard Vandenberg 🇳🇱🇨🇦🇦🇺 Math+e/acc Profile picture Nancy LaPlaca Profile picture 2 subscribed
Mar 7 22 tweets 6 min read
Does rooftop solar actually help the climate? Yes. –– A response to the Shift Key podcast discussion between @JesseJenkins and @emilypont that gets a lot wrong about #RooftopSolar. THREAD. #SolarEnergy @robinsonmeyer 1. Rooftop and community solar have comparable costs to utility-scale solar. Jenkins’s argument is based (in part) on a common misunderstanding caused by trying to compare the generation costs of these resources. ilsr.org/investor-owned…
Feb 9 17 tweets 6 min read
After what I’ve learned in the past year, here’s my pitch: we’re going about finding new grid capacity for clean energy and electrification all wrong. A thread. (And one caveat) #transmission #cleanenergy Guy sitting at a table with a sign that reads "we don't need new transmission -- change my mind" The switch flipped when listening to the @drvolts Volts podcast with @JasonTSConduct1 and Emilia Chojkiewicz. The current approach to high-voltage #transmission capacity is like building broadband with new copper wires and 56K modems. volts.wtf/p/one-easy-way…
Nov 29, 2023 9 tweets 3 min read
ILSR has found that community solar and utility-scale solar have comparable costs to #Minnesota electric customers. So what's happening here? 🧵 #SolarEnergy 1) Xcel Energy hates the community solar program because it directly competes with utility-owned power generation that generates profits for shareholders. ilsr.org/why-does-one-m…
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Nov 3, 2023 10 tweets 4 min read
How do we maximize clean energy benefits, including wealth building, jobs, and lowering costs? Local, local, and local ownership, baby! 🧵 Image If you want more money for folks who have local solar, give them ownership of the system! >> Greater lifetime savings and wealth >> This applies to community solar, as well! ilsr.org/report-advanta…
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Oct 31, 2023 9 tweets 3 min read
Minneapolis passes its Climate Legacy Initiative, juicing its local climate action funding by $10 million per year. A short thread on how other cities can similarly advance clean energy: #cities #ClimateAction #CleanEnergy @theUSDNstartribune.com/minneapolis-hi… The revenue for Minneapolis comes from a utility franchise fee, basically a pass through from electric and gas bills to the city government. In about 40 states, cities can similarly negotiate and set these fees: ilsr.org/energy/utility…
Jun 12, 2023 14 tweets 3 min read
A few thoughts on "permitting reform" from an avowed local renewable energy advocate: 🧵 My understanding of "reform" is that several components are actually "preemption" of local decision making (based on how every article mentions multi-jurisdiction permitting), but I've not made a study of it.
May 22, 2023 9 tweets 2 min read
#Minnesota 's community solar program got an overhaul this session, thanks to great work by the #mnleg. Here's a few highlights: #solarenergy #communitysolar Community solar access was big -- several new provisions support low- and moderate-income opportunities, including a more generous rate, carve outs for participation (30%), and removal of credit scoring for participants.
Feb 23, 2023 11 tweets 6 min read
This @bradplumer @nytimes covers a super important issue for the clean energy transition: being able to connect to the grid. I have a few addenda... 🧵 nytimes.com/2023/02/23/cli… One reason we can't get transmission built for large scale solar and wind projects is that utilities have gamed the planning system to favor their own interests. @AriPeskoe covers this chapter and verse in his work on the "utility transmission syndicate" ilsr.org/electric-trans…
Feb 23, 2023 4 tweets 1 min read
If you are writing a cover letter or resume, make the connection between the job skills required and your background, don't make the reviewer hunt for it. If you're an "expert program director" don't SAY it, SHOW it. Your cover letter should have a sentence like this: "I have four years experience as a program director supervising XX staff and managing a budget of XX." Don't make me find it!
Feb 13, 2023 19 tweets 4 min read
American electricity customers are likely overpaying #monopoly electric utilities by $2 to $20 billion per year, says a white paper from UC Berkeley's Energy Institute at HAAS: google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j… Image Regulators charged with protecting the public interest have systematically failed to align the actual risk and reward of utility capital investments, allowing utilities to earn too much money on very low risk investments. Result: "a sizeable transfer from consumers to investors"
Dec 5, 2022 11 tweets 6 min read
On #energytwitter, I see plenty of talk about time-of-use pricing, but I wonder if electricity being a monopoly has us overlooking the time value of action on climate change, and the opportunity to tap a much wider array of participants in our energy systems. With energy efficiency, for example, there are several “cost tests” that regulators will use to determine if a particular measure (wall insulation, window replacement) is worthwhile: a participate cost test, a utility cost test, and a societal cost test.
Jan 5, 2022 11 tweets 4 min read
What would you rather drive - gas or electric - in an epic traffic jam? A short thread to emphasize that running either type of car for cabin heating will use a lot of fuel, and that neither vehicle is designed for unlikely scenarios. (*napkin math warning*)🧵 To heat your gas car, you have to run the engine (your heating is actually from the wasted energy from the inefficient combustion of gas). Most Americans buy SUVs, which use roughly 1/2 gallon of gas per hour idling (I rounded up from "large sedan"). energy.gov/eere/vehicles/…
Nov 19, 2021 20 tweets 4 min read
You might have heard about the campaign to Save Solar in California, due to deliberations by state regulators to reduce compensation for solar producers. We're being played by utility lobbyists, my friends. Here's a thread 🧵 #solarenergy #NEM If you haven't heard about the "utility death spiral," read the infamous Edison Electric Institute report that identified customer-owned solar as an existential threat to the profits for utility shareholders. drive.google.com/file/d/1tsF2Hq…
May 12, 2021 5 tweets 2 min read
More than half of households have at least two cars, more than half have a garage or carport. With used electric cars available for under $10k, I'd say there are ways to avoid gas lines without owning a Tesla. #DriveElectric Data on car ownership: cnbc.com/2014/11/18/two…
May 4, 2021 19 tweets 6 min read
THREAD on comparing utility-scale and rooftop solar, sparked by a good question from @jeffsaintjohn on LinkedIn about this post on jobs from solar. While my original post compares utility-scale and rooftop solar, we ought to spend less time comparing them because a) they aren't subject to reasonable comparison and b) it's the utility's playbook. Here's a few examples:
Dec 6, 2018 12 tweets 3 min read
How do you build a pro-climate electric utility like @xcelenergy? Here's a helpful timeline: 1994: then separate state-based companies, the Minnesota company asks the legislature for permission to store more nuclear waste at its nuclear power plants. The Legislature agrees, in exchange for 400 megawatts of wind (x2 if cost-effective)...
Nov 8, 2018 8 tweets 3 min read
Key finding in Minnesota decarbonization study: the local strategy––maximizing distributed energy resources––saves customers (nearly) the most money. Higher rates but lower use. mcknight.org/programs/midwe… #distributedenergy #renewableenergy #local Bonus: the inexpensive Local Decarbonization scenario also includes 13 gigawatts of rooftop solar PV in Minnesota!
Feb 12, 2018 22 tweets 5 min read
Let’s take a minute to vividly illustrate why monopoly power in the electric business is bad, by way of Va. 1/ roanoke.com/news/politics/… In 30 states, utilities get government-granted monopolies subject to public oversight by a regulatory commission. See below.. 2/