Articles by John Farrell
John Farrell is the author of Energy Self-Reliant States and a senior researcher at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, where he focuses on renewable energy policy.
All Articles
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Could the U.S. Cut Household Electricity Use by Two-Thirds?
Your mind-blowing chart of the day, courtesy of Arne Jungjohann at the Heinrich Böll Foundation. To be fair, there’s little need for air conditioning in Germany compared to the United States, but air conditioning only accounts for about 20% of U.S. household electricity consumption. Leaving it out make it 9,200 kWh vs. 3,100 kWh. Wow. […]
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Why we pay double for solar in America (but won’t forever)
The barriers to cheap solar in the U.S. can be solved by policy, not technological, innovation. It's not too ambitious to assume the price of solar will keep falling.
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Just Energy Independence or Clean Energy Self-Reliance?
In Thomas Friedman’s latest column, he praises Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts because he “took one for the country.” Friedman sees that “America today is poised for a great renewal” if only it can get some “big, centrist, statesmanlike leadership.” Logically, there would be some renewable (energy) in America’s renewal, right? Wrong. Here’s Friedman’s […]
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Overturning the ‘15% Rule’ Can Expand Distributed Generation
If you haven’t heard yet, there’s a “rule” that precludes distributed renewable energy projects from supplying more than 15% of the power to most “distribution circuits” (part of the low-voltage electric grid that brings power into homes and businesses). With the rapidly falling cost of solar power, many places in the country are starting to […]
