Food for thought
Can We Have Our Clean Energy and the Environment Too? | Sierra Magazine
We need to acknowledge that in dealing with climate change, the trade-offs often lead to negative consequences for communities that weren't involved in the decision of what would be traded away. How do we carry out the clean energy transition without making the mistakes of the past? Studied ambiguity is no longer an option. We can't afford the high social and environmental costs of cheap goods, cheap labor, and disposable ecosystems. This much is clear: There's no time left to trade away either justice or sustainability. Continue reading.
6 Alternatives to Public Power | Excerpt from Local Energy Rules podcast blog created by the Institute of Local Self-Reliance. *Hawaiʻi is already pursuing several of these!
Community Choice Energy: As part of a community choice aggregation, municipalities and counties band together to procure power for their residents and negotiate better deals. The incumbent utility still distributes the electricity. This measure, which Farrell calls “municipalization lite,” is only available to communities in the nine states with enabling legislation.
Change the Utility’s Incentives: When investor-owned utilities spend money on new infrastructure, they can recover their costs from customers — plus a rate of return for their shareholders. This “cost plus” business model pushes utilities to build more things, whether they are needed or not. Hawaii’s performance-based regulation, in contrast, rewards utilities for increasing efficiency, advancing toward the state’s 100 percent clean energy mandate, and overall customer satisfaction. The utility is pushed to compete with itself in a market that otherwise lacks competition.
Alternative Utility Business Models: Investor-owned electric utilities must keep an eye on the bottom line: profit. A certified “B Corporation,” in contrast, operates with a triple bottom line that includes social and environmental sustainability. Green Mountain Power serves 270,000 electric customers in Vermont. The utility was first designated a B Corporation in 2014 by non-profit group B Lab, which certifies corporations that meet certain environmental and social standards. Green Mountain Power offers many enterprising programs, including solar for low-income customers and an off-grid package.
Create a Local Clean Energy Fund: Portland’s Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund adds a surcharge to businesses that collect one billion dollars of revenue each year and at least $500,000 of revenue in Portland. Essential goods and services are exempt from the fund. Voters established the fund through a 2018 ballot initiative and expect to raise between 40 and 60 million dollars per year. Organizations will apply to a grant committee for support funds. Seattle also taxes corporations in the name of climate justice. Jumpstart Seattle, a corporate payroll tax passed in 2020, only applies to businesses with payroll expenses of seven million dollars or more. The resulting fund will go toward affordable housing, small business support, and the Green New Deal.
Organize an Energy District: Northeast Iowans established the Winneshiek Energy District in 2009. The organization provides energy assessments, technical assistance on weatherization, and solar site assessments — to an astounding result. Winneshiek County has 10 times more solar per capita than any other county in Iowa.