The document presents a case for local energy and renewable commitments, highlighting the potential of wind and rooftop solar power to meet state electricity needs. It emphasizes the economic benefits of local renewable energy investments and discusses various examples of cities and cooperatives achieving 100% renewable energy goals. It advocates for community ownership and democratic control of energy resources to capture the benefits of renewable power locally.

1. L O C A L P O W E R F O R T H E
L O C A L E C O N O M Y
E N E R G Y D E M O C R A C Y
John Farrell
Director of Energy DemocracyMarch 20, 2018
Presentation in Rochester, MN

2. W H Y G E T 1 0 0 %
L O C A L LY ?

3. L E T ’ S WA R M U P

4. W I N D P O W E R P O T E N T I A L ?
Percentage of state electricity sales

5. A. 25%
B. 55%
C. 175%
D. 2,500%
E.27,000%
W I N D P O W E R P O T E N T I A L ?
Percentage of state electricity sales

6. W I N D P O W E R P O T E N T I A L
Percentage of state electricity sales
A. 25%
B. 55%
C. 175%
D. 2,500%
E. 27,000%

7. W I N D P O W E R P O T E N T I A L
30% c.f. or better
2 0 1 0 N R E L D ATA
100m
Potential Percent of
Electricity from
Onshore Wind Power
0 to 10%
10 to 25%
25 to 50%
50 to 100%
100% or moreSource: http://1.usa.gov/1LBmAIV
“You have a unique
opportunity to buy wind that
is cheaper than fossil fuel”
—Xcel CEO Ben Fowke

8. ilsr.org

9. L E T ’ S WA R M U P ( # 2 )

10. R O O F T O P S O L A R P O T E N T I A L ?
A. 2%
B. 15%
C. 39%
D. 59%
E.112%
Percentage of state electricity sales

11. R O O F T O P S O L A R P O T E N T I A L
A. 2%
B. 8%
C. 39%
D. 59%
E. 112%
Percentage of state electricity sales

12. 23%
49%
All buildings
Source: http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy16osti/65298.pdf
R O O F T O P S O L A R P O T E N T I A L 2 0 1 6
POTENTIAL PERCENT OF
POWER FROM LOCAL
ROOFTOP SOLAR
Over 50%
40 to 50%
25 to 40%
11 to 25%
2008 data
40-50%
25-40%
Over
50%
Over
50%
25-40%

13. W H Y G E T 1 0 0 %
L O C A L LY ?
We can do it!

14. Y O U ’ R E N O T A L O N E !

15. Y O U ’ R E N O T A L O N E !
Over 50 U.S. cities have made 100% renewable
commitments

16. W H AT S TAT E W I L L H AV E
T W O C I T I E S W I T H 1 0 0 %
R E N E WA B L E B Y 2 0 2 0 ?

17. Georgetown
Denton
Both with municipal utilities!

18. W H Y L O C A L ?

19. S O L A R E C O N O M I E S O F S C A L E
Costofelectricity
0.0¢
2.0¢
4.0¢
6.0¢
8.0¢
10.0¢
12.0¢
14.0¢
Residential ≤10 10-20 20-50 50-100 100-250 250-500 500-1000 5-10 MW 10 to
20 MW
20 to
100 MW
100 to
1,000 MW
Estimated levelized cost of
electricity (plus delivery)
based on reported 2015 costs*
Sources: Tracking the Sun IX and Utility-Scale Solar 2015
(SunShot, Berkeley Labs); SAM (NREL); Crossborder; EIA; ILSR
Uses residential electricity rates of 12¢, commercial
of 10¢ per kilowatt-hour (U.S. Average, EIA)
Actual cost to“purchase” grid-exported power
via net metering
kilowatts megawatts
DOESN’T INCLUDE LOCAL CAPACITY VALUE
OR AVOIDED TRANSMISSION LOSSES OF
DISTRIBUTED SOLAR

20. L O C A L S P E N D I N G VA L U E O F S O L A R
Valueoflocalspendingforproject“softcosts”
0.0¢
2.0¢
4.0¢
6.0¢
8.0¢
10.0¢
12.0¢
14.0¢
Residential ≤10 10-20 20-50 50-100 100-250 250-500 500-1000 5-10 MW 10 to
20 MW
20 to
100 MW
100 to
1,000 MW
Sources: Crossborder; ILSR
Assumes local soft costs are 25% of installed costs
for residential, 6% for large commercial, and
linearly distributed in between
Value of local spending during project installation
(20-year net present value)
kilowatts megawatts

21. L O C A L S P E N D I N G VA L U E O F S O L A R
Costtopurchaseenergylessvalueoflocalspending
forproject“softcosts”
0.0¢
2.0¢
4.0¢
6.0¢
8.0¢
10.0¢
12.0¢
14.0¢
Residential ≤10 10-20 20-50 50-100 100-250 250-500 500-1000 5-10 MW 10 to
20 MW
20 to
100 MW
100 to
1,000 MW
kilowatts megawatts
Cost of energy to grid less local spending benefits
Sources: Tracking the Sun IX and Utility-Scale Solar 2015
(SunShot, Berkeley Labs); SAM (NREL); Crossborder; EIA; ILSR
Uses residential electricity rates of 12¢, commercial of 10¢ per
kilowatt-hour (U.S. Average, EIA); assumes local soft costs are
25% of installed costs (Crossborder)

22. 3 WAY S Y O U C A N L E A D

23. https://ilsr.org/community-power-interactive-toolkit/

24. 1

25. 3 0 H O U S E H O L D S
2 1 0 K I L O WAT T S
6 J O B S
$ 1 M I L L I O N
Each co-op provides:

26. 2

27. Commission-approved tariffs
Existing programs
Midwest Energy
NH Elec. Co-op
Roanoke Elec. Co-op
How$mart KY
Several co-ops offer inclusive
energy financing
Central Elec. Power
Ouachita Electric
Clean Energy Works Portland

28. 3

29. W H Y L O C A L ?
We can do it!
You’re not alone!
Keeps dollars here

30. www.ilsr.org
C H A N G I N G
T H E R U L E S
P R O V I D I N G
T O O L S
1 0 0 % R E N E WA B L E
L O C A L E C O N O M Y
H U M A N
S C A L E
L O C A L
O W N E R S H I P
D E M O C R AT I C
A U T H O R I T Y
I L L U S T R AT I N G
T H E V I S I O N

31. Beyond Sharing: How Communities
Can Take Ownership of Renewable
Power
The electric utility monopoly is breaking up, but will new companies
make renewable energy become another form of wealth extraction or
can community renewable energy enable communities to capture their
renewable power?
John Farrell
April 2016
www.ilsr.org
R E A D O U R
R E P O R T S
R E A D M O R E
@johnffarrell
F O L L O W