Articles
All articles
Stories, analysis, and big ideas on the shift to clean, local energy.
-

Podcast 059: Steph Speirs – Not everyone can afford solar. Here’s what one visionary company is doing to change that.
Host Bill Nussey catches up with Steph Spears, CEO of community solar leader, Solstice, to learn how her…
-

Podcast 058: Samir Ibrahim – The story behind an affordable solar-powered irrigation system that is changing the lives of smallholder farmers in Africa
Host Bill Nussey interviews Samir Ibrahim, the visionary co-founder and CEO of Kenya-based SunCulture.
-

April 2021 Clean Energy Headlines
* New data on wind’s role in the Texas energy crisis * Updates on the Tesla Powerwall and…
-

Podcast 057: John Farrell – Monopoly utilities and consumers are headed for a collision over local energy. The rules must change, but how?
In this second of a two-part series, John Farrell, Director of Energy Democracy at the Institute for Local…
-

Podcast 056: John Farrell – One organization is working to bring power to the people. Literally.
In this first of a special two part interview, John Farrell, Director of Energy Democracy with the Institute…
-

March 2021 Clean Energy Headlines
* South Korean investment into U.S. battery manufacturing * Utilities attempting to shift costs to homeowners with solar…
-

Podcast 055: Steve LeVine – Batteries were invented 220 years ago. Why are they suddenly critical to our grid?
Batteries are not a new idea but plummeting costs have positioned them to disrupt two of the world’s…
-

Podcast 054: Abigail Ross Hopper – What are the top policy priorities shaping the future of the solar industry?
What should the new administration focus on? How do we balance domestic manufacturing with low cost imports? Abby…
-

Natural gas was the biggest contributor to the Texas grid outage of 2021
The real cause of the Texas grid outage of 2021 have been lost amidst misguided political bickering. This…
-

Making ethanol from corn is the least efficient use of farmland
Corn is the #1 crop grown on US farms. Most of it is used to make gasoline-additive ethanol.…
-

February 2021 Clean Energy Headlines
* Breaking down the situation in Texas * A look at the forces seeking to limit residential solar…
-

Podcast 053: Bernadette Del Chiaro — Could a change in California’s net metering policy cripple residential solar?
California is considering whether to change its pioneering net metering program. The future of local energy is at…