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.
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Big wind farms cost more than small ones
You'd think the biggest wind power projects would be the most cost effective. But that's not the case.
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Solar panels under power lines could be a major electricity source
Moving toward renewable energy won't require massive solar projects. We could get 20 percent of our power just from solar panels under power lines.
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New small hydro could add significantly to state renewable power
Over at Climate Progress, Stephen Lacey recently asked why there isn’t more development of micro hydro in the U.S., given its potential to provide more than 30,000 low-cost megawatts of power to U.S. states (and bipartisan political support). We can’t answer that question any better than Stephen, but we can provide a good illustration of […]
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Utility fights dirty in city's battle for clean local energy
In just three weeks, citizens of Boulder, Colo., will vote on whether to begin a big, formal process to unplug from Xcel Energy’s system and plug into local energy self-reliance. The vote to form a municipal electric utility could set a precedent for communities across the United States to keep millions of dollars local instead […]
