News & Articles on Community Power
Developing renewable energy on the scale needed to make the energy transition will require public acceptance. Unlike nuclear power, where society can force a single plant on a community for the benefit of society at large, renewable energy will have to become ubiquitous in our communities and on our landscapes. This can only be possible when the majority accept this transformation. Experience has taught that acceptance is greatest when neighbors and the community at large can participate in the renewable energy revolution. The beauty of renewable energy is that everyone can take part–and own a stake in their future–when given an opportunity to do so. The challenge is creating the policies that make this possible, whether it’s for a community wind project or a solar garden.
Why Minnesota’s Community Solar Program is the Best
By
John Farrell and Maria Mccoy
Minnesota’s community solar program grew to 822 megawatts of operational capacity in November 2021. The chart above shows the progress of projects through the program since August 2015, and the nearly two-year lag between the program launch in December 2014 and the successful ignition of multiple megawatts of capacity in January 2017. Note: the megawatt sum of projects in the application stage reported by Xcel Energy is a minimum, hence the plus symbol.
Co-owned by locals, Britain’s biggest subsidy-free onshore wind farm is opened
By
Alban Thurston
Locals around Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway now own 5% of the £50 million, 46 MW Crossdykes park, thanks to the Holyrood government’s Community & Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES).
We the Power: How community energy can free people and help the planet
By
Emanuela Barbiroglio
Born and raised in the German city of Schönau, Sebastian Sladek learned the meaning of the word “community” quite soon. Words like “energy”, “power” and “rebellion” immediately followed. . . They were taking over the Schönau power grid and founding their own as a civil society. In 1994 Elektrizitätswerke Schönau (EWS) was founded: finally a green-electricity supplier.
Post feed-in tariff futures for pioneer renewable plants: Onshore wind power
By
Isabel Sutton
One solution for older wind plants is to enter a power purchase agreement (PPA) with a company such Greenpeace Energy, which has provided a lifeline to Reinhard Christiansen’s pioneering wind plant at Ellhöft in Schleswig-Holstein.
Share of citizen energy in decline as funding runs out and big investors take over
By
Isabel Sutton
1 January 2021 marked the beginning of the end of a key phase in Germany’s Energiewende. On this date, the pioneers of Germany’s energy transition stopped receiving the feed-in tariff that, for the last 20 years, has guaranteed them a fixed price for generating electricity via wind, solar or biomass.
Copenhagen’s Legendary Wind Park Middelgrunden at a Crossroads
By
Paul Hockenos
The world’s largest wind farm two decades ago may not survive as a co-operative. At least this is what the Danish energy industry says. The co-op’s founders remain defiant – and optimistic.
STIMULATING INVESTMENT IN COMMUNITY ENERGY: BROADENING THE OWNERSHIP OF RENEWABLES
By
Irena
Developed by the Coalition’s Community Energy Working Group, this white paper reviews measures that stimulate and sustain community energy. Although renewable energy investments by citizens and communities have gained traction in many countries, knowledge exchange on a global level has been limited. This paper fills the gap by showcasing policy measures and financing mechanisms that reflect best practices and offering recommendations to governments and financial institutions on how to accelerate community energy development and reap its benefits.
Tvindkraft: The Giant That Shook the World Turns 42
By
Paul Gipe
Guinness Book of Records is considering a new category–world’s longest running or oldest megawatt-scale wind turbine. The question was thrown at me by Britta Jensen, one of the operators of Tvindkraft in northwest Jutland. She wanted to know if they qualified.
Power to the people: why clean energy must give more Australians a slice of the pie
By
Ketan Joshi
Australians are far more welcoming of change than we expect, and are furious at having been shut out of being direct participants
Community Energy Projects Face Obstacles Despite New EU Directives
By
Paul Hockenos
Fresh EU directives have spurred new legislation across the EU to expand citizen-owned energy projects. But collective renewables still bump up against the powerful forces of traditional utilities, grid operators, and conventional energy interests.
