The Institute for Local Self-Reliance
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The Institute for Local Self-Reliance has a vision of thriving, diverse, equitable communities. To reach this vision, we build local power to fight corporate control. We are a national research and advocacy organization that partners with allies across the country to build an American economy driven by local priorities and accountable to people and the planet.
Local self-reliance means that people are able to exercise power over our lives: how we provide for our families, how resources are shared and allocated in our communities, and how decisions made by government, corporations and business affect all of us.
We recognize the biggest challenges in the U.S. today are corporate control and diminishing community power which undermines the strength of our democracy and local economies. For us, local self-reliance is the best answer to these challenges.
So whether it’s fighting back against the outsize power of monopolies like Amazon, ensuring high-quality locally-driven broadband service for all, or advocating to keep local renewable energy in the community that produced it, ILSR advocates for solutions that harness the power of citizens and communities. Source
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| Scope | National |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Country | United States of America |
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Recent Articles
Search ArticlesVirginia’s Community Solar Program
Post last updated August 2025 Virginia scored 5 out of 13 on the 2025 Community Power Scorecard. It passed its first community solar legislation in 2020. Successful and meaningful community solar policies prioritize four central principles: tangible benefits for participants, flexible ownership structure, synergy with other renewable energy policies, and access for all residents. At a minimum, state community solar policies must allow non-utility ownership of solar projects.
Maryland’s Community Solar Program
Post last updated August 2025 Maryland scored 13 out of 13 on the 2025 Community Power Scorecard. It passed its first community solar legislation in 2015. Successful and meaningful community solar policies prioritize four central principles: tangible benefits for participants, flexible ownership structure, synergy with other renewable energy policies, and access for all residents. At a minimum, state community solar policies must allow non-utility ownership of solar projects.
Small Solar's Speed Advantage
Small-scale solar is one of the fastest, most cost-effective tools we have to transition the U.S. to clean energy — but utilities and policymakers keep stifling that potential. Unnecessary permitting and grid connection hurdles are causing costly delays that small solar customers, the grid, and the climate cannot afford.
Smart Homes, Stronger Grids, Thanks to Distributed Power Plants — Episode 241 of Local Energy Rules - ILSR Energy Democracy Initiative
What Are Distributed Power Plants? “Distributed power plants help people do things they already want to do: consumers want to save money. They want to stay cool in the summer, they want to stay warm in the winter, and they want to be able to take some control in their own lives to make that happen.” Distributed power plants (DPPs) network various consumer energy devices like rooftop solar, batteries, and smart thermostats to either reduce energy load, or inject power directly into the grid.
A Handbook For Public Power Campaigns
Successful public power campaigns need to build strong coalitions, find a winning message, and use legal and political savvy to overcome utility opposition. Download the Public Power Handbook The Public Power Handbook is a guide for communities exploring models of publicly owned power, such as a municipal electric utility, as a path toward local control, clean and affordable energy investment, and democratic accountability.
Why BlackRock Wants to Buy Your Electric Utility — Episode 240 of Local Energy Rules - ILSR Energy Democracy Initiative
Proposed Minnesota Power Sale Raises Ratepayer Concerns Brian Edstrom advocates for consumers when litigating utility purchases. He has significant concerns about the proposed acquisition of Allete, Minnesota Power’s parent company. The proposed buyers are a Canadian pension fund and a subsidiary of BlackRock, the world’s largest private investment fund.
ILSR Applauds Judge’s Decision to Block Kroger’s $24.6 billion merger with Albertsons
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For media inquiries, please contact: “Blocking this merger is a crucial step in restoring healthy competition to food retailing,” says ILSR’s Ron Knox. WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 10, 2024) – Ron Knox, senior researcher and writer at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), made the following statement in response to Judge Adrienne C. Nelson’s ruling in favor of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the agency’s move to block Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons.
How States Can Maximize Clean Energy Benefits with Local Ownership
We Need Each Other, Now More Than Ever Only by relying on one another, cultivating a spirit of togetherness, and taking big, collective action in our communities can we win the future we all deserve. A future where we all have the freedom to control our own destinies, unshackled from the whims of corporate bosses, liberated to build lives and livelihoods that embody the character of our communities. If you believe in this future, support our work today.
In the Atlantic: The Great Grocery Squeeze
While many have long believed that food deserts arise in areas that just can’t attract a grocery store, Stacy Mitchell argues in The Atlantic that the modern food desert is actually a result of the federal government’s early-1980s decision to stop enforcing the Robinson-Patman Act. In fact, there’s ample evidence that before the 1980s, many neighborhoods that are now food deserts actually had a diverse and competitive grocery landscape.
Visualized: The Policy Shift That Decimated Local Grocery Stores
For decades, independent grocers thrived alongside large chains, thanks to enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act, a federal law outlawing price discrimination. Then, in 1981, the government stopped enforcing Robinson-Patman, causing a sharp decline in the number of independent grocery stores. Consolidation, food deserts, and inflated prices followed.