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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Why ‘passive activities’ may be clean energy’s biggest hurdle
Cross-posted from Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. If you care about the future of the American renewable energy industry, you need to learn what the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) calls “passive activities.” Because these important rules mean that as long as the U.S. relies on the tax code to […]
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Building codes: Small rules that help homeowners save big on energy
Illinois is poised to adopt the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code. New building codes can make a big dent in carbon emissions, and save residents money.
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Trade in the 20th century electric grid. Don’t trade off local energy
The future of U.S. energy policy is not about trade-offs, but rather a chance to trade in an obsolete paradigm for a local clean energy future.
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More evidence of a distributed solar sweet spot
If the cost of electricity were the only factor in energy discussions, we’d probably have a lot more coal and a lot less renewable energy. But the truth is that renewable energy can compete on cost and distributed renewable energy has a lot more value beyond just electricity, as illustrated in this one facet in this brief examination by the Clean Coalition.
