A short summer’s break comes to a close
After last week’s record heat, we’re suddenly in the 50’s fahrenheit here in Boone now. That temperature swing signals summer’s final days and that it’s time to get back to writing.
We post our news and reflections on energy, and we also like to repost pieces that we find relevant to community-owned renewable energy. Topics touch on policy, finance, energy politics, case studies, breakthroughs, trends, electric vehicles, as well as the broader social, economic, and maybe even metaphysical dimensions of energy.
Poor Handmaids, Sister Mary and the Radical Leadership of Love
As I’ve posted numerous times previously, we’re constantly inspired by what this group, the Poor Handmaids, are doing at the Center at Donaldson. The major renewable energy projects they’ve undertaken in a short period are impressive enough to stand on their own, but I’ve been interested in what makes it all work in a time
Don’t believe Duke Energy when it says it wants to set the record straight on SB559 (Take 2)
(This piece is as submitted to the Raleigh News & Observer and unpublished by it. This is a second version of an AIRE blog piece, with this one offering some numbers to go along with the rhetorical critique offered in the first version.) ————————————– By Steve Owen, Ph.D. and Nancy LaPlaca, J.D. A recent News
A beautiful sign of progress: Phase 2 solar panels arrive at Poor Handmaids
Just a week after breaking ground, a half megawatt of solar panels arrived on site today for installation on the Poor Handmaids Center at Donaldson Phase 2 solar project. Hat’s off to the Center’s provincial and laystaff for this great work. Green Alternatives, Inc. of Kokomo, Indiana, the installer in cooperation with its industry partners
Don’t believe Duke Energy when it says it wants to set the record straight on SB559
Over this past rainy weekend, an opinion piece in the Raleigh News & Observer caught my eye because its title contained the words Duke Energy and SB559. Its author, Mr. Stephen de May, president of Duke Energy North Carolina, used some language and made some claims which chiefly amount to “hey, we’re Duke Energy and
Poor Handmaids Phase 2 Solar has broken ground
This is what progress looks like– vision, purpose, plan and act. The Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ have broken ground on their 515kW (more than ½ a megawatt) phase 2 solar at The Center at Donaldson. The provincial and laystaff are showing others the way to move forward on clean energy, cooperation, and climate in
Paying for the roads: EVs and gas taxes
I received my vehicle registration renewal notice in the mail the other day and saw the $130 “electric vehicle fee” included. My first reaction was….. what? that seems punitive!!! But with some calm reflection on mobility and policy, and some “napkin-level” arithmetic, I decided I could let this one go. Right now, I’m 20 cents
On the EV road: all plugged in and … “network error” (another tale from the EV trail)
I’ve said in previous posts that traveling in an EV can be framed as an intentional adventure, uneventful and successful trip one charge from home, and in some cases “back side of the moon.”I throw in the nightmare stories just because there’s one thing at AIRE we’ve never been shy about and that’s telling the
Energy, Cooperation, and Possibilities: Nathan Schneider’s take on the pope’s climate encyclical
I’ve just read a chapter from a forthcoming book that I think recommends itself as necessary reading for AIRE’s project partners and anyone working toward democratic energy, sustainable communities, and humanity’s common future. I don’t intend this to be a chapter review. Instead, I want to highlight some of the key ideas in it and
Duke Energy– Master of Tax Avoidance (It pays to be a monopoly)
A couple weeks ago, “tax day” that dreaded April 15th, was an especially painful and costly day for many Americans. That is, of course, unless you happen to be in the 1% or above, or you are DUKE ENERGY (since corporations are persons, right?). Tax day is never painful nor dreaded for Duke, in fact,