On June 17, 2016, I spoke to Midwest Renewable Energy Fair participants as their keynote speaker about how Energy Democracy is within our grasp.

1. T H E C O M I N G O F
E N E R G Y D E M O C R A C Y
TA K I N G C H A R G E O F O U R E N E R G Y F U T U R E
John Farrell
Director of Energy DemocracyJune 17, 2016
Presentation to the Midwest Energy Fair

2. A Q U E S T I O N

3. S M A RT P H O N E I M A G E
Did you get one
of these…

4. Photo credits:
Donnie Ray Jones and Billy Brown via Flickr

5. D I S R U P T I O N

6. From your
landline phone
company?

9. A B O R I N G PA S T

11. “There is one
great advantage
that must follow
regulation, and
that advantage is
protection"

12. F I R S T S TAT E O V E R S I G H T O F
M O N O P O LY U T I L I T I E S ( C . 1 9 0 5 )

13. T H I S C O U L D
TA K E A
W H I L E …

14. “We come to work each day to
do what we did the day before”

15. A D I F F E R E N T E R A

16. S AV I N G S T H R O U G H P S Y C H O L O G Y
1,221 kWh
846 kWh
448 kWh
Efficient
neighbors
All neighbors
YOU
Bill date: Jul 1 -Jul 31
Great
Good
More than average
>
You used 47% less
than your efficient neighbors
HOW YOU’RE DOING

17. S AV I N G S T H R O U G H P S Y C H O L O G Y
1,221 kWh
846 kWh
448 kWh
Efficient
neighbors
All neighbors
YOU
Bill date: Jul 1 -Jul 31
Great
Good
More than average
>
You used 47% less
than your efficient neighbors
HOW YOU’RE DOING
1-3% savings

18. D E M A N D M A N A G E M E N T

19. D E M A N D M A N A G E M E N T
1 utility,
330 megawatts =

20. When did electricity sales peak
nationwide?
• 2013
• 2010
• 2007
• 2005
• earlier

21. 3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
P E A K
S TA G N A N T R E TA I L S A L E S
trillion kilowatt-hours

22. What is the last year fossil fuel provided
> 60% of new power plant capacity?
• 2013
• 2010
• 2007
• 2005
• earlier

23. Percentofnewcapacity
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Fossil fuel Renewable
Gigawattsadded(whiteline)
0
10
20
30
40
50
2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015Q2
R I S I N G R E N E WA B L E E N E R G Y S H A R E
June 10, 2015
of new power plant capacity

24. Percentofnewcapacity
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Coal Gas Wind Small Solar Big Solar
U . S . P O W E R P L A N T C A PA C I T Y A D D I T I O N S
(annual megawatts, AC)
Sources: EIA and SEIA
Gigawattsadded(whiteline)
0
10
20
30
40
50
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016Q1

25. C O S T P R E S S U R E S
Lower wholesale prices mean utilities
with excess generation sell for less

26. N O W M O V I N G FA S T

27. 1 I N S TA L L E V E RY
6 0 S E C O N D S
I N C O N T R A S T

28. 0
7,500
15,000
22,500
30,000
$0.00
$2.50
$5.00
$7.50
$10.00
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
Weighted Avg. Cost ($/W)
Cumulative Capacity (MW)
SOLAR INSTALLS DRIVE RAPID PRICE DECLINE

29. B AT T E R I E S
E V E RY W H E R E

30. U N P R E C E D E N T E D
P O W E R
Software allows
many iterations

31. 2007 2008 2011 2012 2013 2013 2014 20142009 2010

32. A W H O L E
N E W W O R L D

33. Minster
POPULATION 2,806

34. P E R C E N T O F
H O U S E H O L D S W I T H
S O L A R
15%

36. In 20 years…

37. R . I . P.

38. U N P R E C E D E N T E D
O P P O R T U N I T Y

39. $ 3 6 0 B I L L I O N

40. 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%
40%

41. 53% used on-site
S O L A R A L O N E
S O L A R + E V + B AT T E RY
+ S M A RT C O N T R O L S
89% used on-site

42. B I G B E N E F I T S

43. R E N E WA B L E
B E N E F I T S
0
3
6
9
12
15
Jan-2002 Jan-2004 Jan-2006 Jan-2008 Jan-2010 Jan-2012 Jan-2014
Natural Gas Price
Wind and Sun Price

44. D I S T R I B U T E D
B E N E F I T S
Solar on Littlestown Hospital
D I S P E R S I N G 1 - M W S O L A R P L A N T S
R E D U C E S I N T E G R AT I O N C O S T S
0
1
2
3
4
1 solar project 5 solar projects 25 solar projects
0.3¢
1.1¢
3.9¢
cents per kilowatt-hour
Credit: USDA

45. L O C A L E C O N O M I C B E N E F I T S
1 megawatt
$2.5 million
20 jobs
Source: ILSR, 2014
$5.4 million in energy savings

46. How Green Energy Farmers busted the barriers:
Formed several,
unrelated LLCs with
only Iowa owners.
State regulation Pass-through to individuals
For a limited time, the
Production Tax Credit was
available as a cash grant,
more easily used by
ordinary investors.
Sold to the utility
Electricity was sold via a
power purchase
agreement to the utility.

47. C O M M U N I T Y-
O W N E D

48. O L D R U L E S

49. U T I L I T Y R U L E S A R E A N T I Q U E

50. A Q U E S T I O N
What are some rules we’ve already adopted?

53. Timeline of State Renewable Energy Standards
1983 1991 19991998199719961994
NE
NJ
TX
NV
NM WACA
DE
CT
MT
DCMD
HI
MN
MN
WIIA
IA
VT
PA
YEAR UPDATED
Sources: C2ES, DSIRE
YEAR ADOPTED
2000 2001 2002 20062005
OR
NC
NH
AZ MN
NV
NY
RI
CO
NM NJ
(30 total)
2003 20102004 200920082007
MA MI
MO
OH
IL
KS
WI
CT
PA
NM
NV
MN
CT
DE
CA
AZ
TX
NV
CO
CT
CO
CA
WI
NJ
HI
CT
NJ
TX
PA
NM
NJ
MN
ME
MD
MD
MA
DE
DC
NV
MN
ME
IL
HI
DC
MA
IL
DE
CO
RI
OR NY
NJ
MD

55. Timeline of State Energy Efficiency Standards
1999 2000 20082007200620052004
CA
CO
CT
HI
IL
MD
MI
MN
NV
NM
NY
OH*NC
PA
PA
RITX
TX
VT
WA
YEAR UPDATED
Source: ACEEE, 2014, http://bit.ly/eers-timeline
YEAR ADOPTED
2009 2010 2011 201420132012
IA
ME
MA
OR
CA
HI
NV
AZ
AR WI
CT
NM
(25 total)
* “paused” in 2013

57. N E W R U L E S

58. E N E R G Y D E M O C R A C Y I N A C T I O N
GRID AS
COMMONS
= super efficient buildings
A solution that
New York is
pursuing

59. C O N E D

60. T R A N S PA R E N T P R I C I N G
Day NightNight

61. -6%
T R A N S PA R E N T P R I C I N G
Peak energy use
PECO, 2015

62. The utility adds a monthly
assessment to the customer’s bill
to pay for energy savings
improvements, with the savings
greater than the monthly cost.
A utility customer signs up for
better insulation, a rooftop solar
array, or a share of solar on a
nearby building.
1
2
M A K I N G
C L E A N
E N E R G Y
E A S I E R
T H A N A
C R E D I T
C A R D
S W I P E
F I N A N C I N G : O N - B I L L R E PAY M E N T

63. H O W D O W E C H A N G E ?

64. 2 5 % C O N T R O L
T H E I R U T I L I T Y
25%
Sacramento Municipal Utility District
Farmer’s Electric Cooperative
Georgetown Utility Systems

65. 7 5 % D O N ’ T
C O N T R O L T H E I R
U T I L I T Y
75%

66. B - C O R P O R AT I O N

67. N E W Y O R K

69. T H A N K Y O U !
@johnffarrell
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