Carl Heastie

Most people in the U.S. pay private or investor-owned power companies—fueled by profit motives—for their electricity. It’s a system that makes advancing renewable energy secondary to advancing corporate revenue. But public utilities offer an alternative that divorces peoples’ energy needs from companies’ bottom lines. Often, these state or municipal run-entities offer more affordable rates, and they’re accountable to the taxpayers who fund them. As a result, environmental advocates and policy experts tend to agree that…

IBEW Local 3 workers install a solar panel on top of LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Photo: Mary Altaffer (AP)A bill that would have substantially increased renewable power generation for the state of New York was killed at the 11th hour by politicians with deep financial relationships to corporate interests. It’s a classic political story—but this one involves factions of Democrats, and some of those corporate interests include the renewable energy industry. And even though the bill was defeated, there are signs from…