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Soulardarity: A community's success in energy democracy

Brooke Bowser

January 29, 2020 |

Planet Forward |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Highland Park, Michigan

After DTE Energy removed streetlights from Highland Park, Michigan when utility bills went unpaid, local residents teamed up to form Soulardarity, a community-owned organization that installs solar-powered street lights throughout the city. The lights are more cost-effective, but beyond that, Soulardarity offers a platform for residents to join the environmental justice movement in advocating for more clean energy options for their neighborhoods and at scale.

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Making Yellow School Buses a Little More Green

Ellen Rosen

January 22, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Public school districts are gradually transitioning to electric buses. Electric utilities, concerned about environmental impacts and overloading the grid, are helping to cover the high price tag.

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Are you pouring hundreds of dollars a year down the drain?

Angela Ross

January 15, 2020 |

ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Australia, Melbourne, Victoria

The use of rain gardens and rain tanks - which capture rainwater runoff, clean the water, and reuse the water for plants and gardens - helps to reduce water waste and toxic runoff. One Australian man built a rain garden to cut back on his waste (and his water bill) and estimates that he has cut down water consumption in his house by one third.

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Flint's Water Crisis Spurs Other Cities To Remove Lead Pipes

Monica Eng

December 23, 2019 |

WBEZ |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

As cities and states across the United States begin to remove lead water pipes, some communities are looking for cost-effective ways to fix them because of the risk of contaminated drinking water. Three cities in the Midwest have started the process and have used innovative ways to raise the funds to replace the aging service lines, which could be a model for other cities like Chicago to follow.

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Power Struggle

Mitch Anderson

December 07, 2019 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Humboldt County, California

The Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe in California installed its own small-scale electrical supply grid using solar panels and Tesla batteries to make their community more resilient to energy disruptions and lower carbon dioxide emissions. This proved useful during the 2019 wildfire season when utility companies shut down power for millions of residents. The tribe is now helping other Native reserves to build their own microgrid systems.

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Holland Aims to Bring Back Its Starry Nights

Sophie Knight

November 18, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Netherlands, Amsterdam

To address the harm - both to human psychology as well as natural ecosystems - of artificial light, The Netherlands calls on its citizens to turn their lights off and feel the effects of a natural darkness. The awareness of negative consequences of artificial light has helped residents reduce light consumption, though turning the lights off is an uphill battle with international corporate powerhouses.

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This single shipping container can start powering a small renewable grid in less than a day

Adele Peters

November 18, 2019 |

FastCompany |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Grass Valley, California

Solar microgrids can improve community resilience to natural disasters by quickly restoring power. California-based startup, BoxPower, has developed an easy-to-install solar panels, packaged in a cargo shipping container. Housing the units in a shipping container allows for easy transport to disaster zones, such as the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and to communities in California left without power due to wildfires.

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‘The worth of water' and what conservation strategies are working

Amy Joi O'Donoghue

November 09, 2019 |

Deseret News |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Salt Lake City, Utah

To address worsening droughts and limited water resources in the 2nd driest state in the country, Utah government officials are implementing different methods of water metering throughout the state as a tool for water consumption measurement. Residents can have digital access to the amount of water they are using for landscaping comparative to the amount they should be using. Since this implementation, water consumption has drastically decreased in project areas.

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Wildfires and blackouts mean Californians need solar panels and microgrids

David Roberts

October 28, 2019 |

Vox |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, California

Localized, distributed energy systems are popping up around California. As the larger electricity system becomes less reliable in the face of wildfires, more individuals are turning to microgrids and solar energy with help from organizations like Clean Coalition and Stone Edge Farm Microgrid. While still happening on a small scale, such energy systems may become more popular as its sustainability in a changing climate shows to be more resilient.

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How solar ‘skin' helped an Indiana homeowner win a fight for rooftop panels

Kari Lydersen

October 15, 2019 |

Energy News Network |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Indianapolis, Indiana

After the homeowners association denied his request to install solar panels on his roof due to their aesthetic, Indianapolis-resident Joey Myles used SolarSkin to disguise the panels to look like asphalt shingles. The company Sistine Solar makes these films that coat solar panels in various images that can be used to blend in with roofs or other forms of artwork. The panels with skins only generate about 85 percent of energy as those without skins, but they can withstand extreme weather.

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