We have an unreliable, shaky electrical grid that fails at peak times.  We have a potential global catastrophe on the horizon in global climate change.  What we don’t have are very many easy solutions.

Good net metering and interconnection policy takes the crucial, and simple, first step towards providing for a more reliable electricity grid AND a new, sustainable energy future.

The first edition of Freeing the Grid, released in 2006 by the Network for New Energy Choices, highlighted how well-crafted net metering laws can reinvigorate renewable energy policy. 

However, since the 2006 edition of Freeing the Grid, there have been great strides in bringing more clean energy to the grid. Many states have taken the lead by reforming their clean energy policies and goals. But we are still far from conquering the “Energy Trilemma” – an energy world constrained by the three forces of financial goals, environmental concerns and security risks. In the new 2007 edition, the Network for New Energy Choices teamed up with the Solar Alliance, the Vote Solar Initiative, and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council to bring the most up-to-date analysis of statewide interconnection and net metering rules.

Freeing the Grid 2007 includes:

• Easy to follow state-by-state scoring and grading for net metering and interconnection standards
• Expert analysis, from leading national experts with decades of experience, put in one clear, comprehensive and accessible report
• The most up-to-date data that are representative of the existing state of net metering

2nd Golden Meter to be Awarded

At the release of Freeing the Grid’s executive summary, we will present the 2^nd Golden Meter Award.  The Golden Meter represents excellence in implementing net metering rules.  This year’s award will go to the state that has taken the most significant steps in improving their net metering rules since the 2006 report was released. To find out who wins and see how your state measures up, attend:

September 26^th 2007 at 6 pm (PST)

Press Room (Room 203B) Long Beach Convention Center

Long Beach, California

Available for interview:

Claudine Schneider: Claudine has been recently selected to lead the Solar Alliance, a group of the world’s largest solar manufacturers, installers and integrators. The focus of the Alliance is to assist state legislators, regulators and utilities develop policies that assure a sustainable solar market.

Claudine Schneider served in the U.S. Congress (R - R.I.) from 1980 to 1990 on the Science, Research & Technology Committee where she authored numerous bills that advanced energy efficiency and renewables. After leaving Congress she co-founded Energia Global, an energy efficiency and renewable energy company. She has assisted the EPA in recruiting over 40 corporations to reduce their GHGs and has served as a consultant on renewable energy to the Export-Import Bank, National Grid Utility and the Wilder Hill New Energy Global Innovation Index Fund.

Michael Dworkin: Professor of Law and Director of the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School, has also been a litigator for U.S. EPA, a management partner in an engineering firm, and a utility regulator. Professor Dworkin was chair of the Vermont Public Service Board from 1999 to 2005, and he chaired the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ (NARUC) Committee on Energy Resources & the Environment. In 2003, on behalf of the Public Service Board, he received the “Innovations in American Government Award” from the Kennedy School of Government for helping oversee Efficiency Vermont’s development into one of the five most innovative and effective public service programs in the United States.

Michael is now a non-utility trustee of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and was recently elected to board of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE). For many years, he has helped pursue more sustainable energy portfolios, with special emphasis on energy-efficiency and renewable energy choices, including rural and agricultural options.

A graduate of Middlebury College and the Harvard Law School, Michael’s work has focused on the points where technical, economic, and legal issues intertwine. He believes that: “Energy policy is our world’s most pressing environmental challenge, and environmental issues are the energy sector’s most important constraint.”

Adam Browning: is the co-founder and director of operations for Vote Solar Initiative, a nonprofit organization working to jump-start the transition to renewable energy by helping municipal and state governments implement large-scale and cost-effective solar energy projects.

Available for Comment:

Chris Cook, Reviewer of Freeing the Grid:

Chris Cook is VP Regulatory Affairs for Sun Edison and is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished lawyers in the renewable energy field. While working with the Maryland Public Service Commission, Cook negotiated power purchase contracts regularly with electric utility companies. Today, he is the consultant of choice for the solar energy industry to negotiate renewable portfolio standards, interconnection agreements, and other relevant regulatory issues in the renewable energy sphere. Cook earned his BS in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and holds a JD from the University of Maryland.

Chris Cook is one of the Founding Board Members of the Solar Alliance - which is dedicated to assisting state legislators, regulators and utilities create sustainable solar markets

Also Available for Comment:

James Rose, Policy Analyst, Network for New Energy Choices

James Rose serves as the Policy Analyst at the Network for New Energy Choices (NNEC). James holds a Master’s of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a BA in Biology from Earlham College. He is the co-author of NNEC’s report on net metering, Freeing the Grid, and coordinates NNEC’s National Energy Research Database. His research interests include public policy, renewable energy technologies, and ways to improve energy efficiency.

Colin Murchie, Director of Regulatory Affairs, Sun Edison

Colin Murchie is Manager of Regulatory Affairs at Sun Edison. In this position, he is responsible for monitoring and intervention in critical proceedings before state legislative and regulatory bodies, and the federal government. He also works to incorporate up to date regulatory information into Sun Edison's business planning, forecasting, and marketing efforts.

Mr. Murchie received a BS in Natural Resources Policy, Management, and Human Dimensions from Cornell University, and holds US Patent #6060152.

Rusty Haynes, Project Coordinator, IREC / North Carolina Solar Center

Rusty Haynes is a policy analyst at the N.C. Solar Center at N.C. State University. He researches information related to financial incentives and regulatory policies that promote renewable energy at the state and federal levels. He manages the Interstate Renewable Energy Council's (IREC) Connecting to the Grid program, which provides services and resources to facilitate the development of net metering and interconnection standards for renewables and other forms of distributed generation (DG). He is editor of IREC's "Connecting to the Grid" newsletter, a nationally distributed monthly publication. Rusty also researches renewable-energy policies for the nationally recognized Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE). His additional interests include international energy issues and alternative transportation. Before joining the N.C. Solar Center, Rusty worked as a research assistant at UNC-Chapel Hill and as a legislative assistant at the N.C. General Assembly in Raleigh. Rusty has taught high school in Atlanta, Georgia, and English in Kwangju, South Korea. Rusty holds a B.A. in journalism from the University of Georgia, where he graduated summa cum laude, and an M.A. in journalism and mass communication from UNC-Chapel Hill. He has traveled to 33 foreign countries.

To arrange interviews please contact:

Shaun Chapman

Communications Manager

Network for New Energy Choices

212.991.1831

shaun@newenergychoices.org