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.
CBC: First of its kind solar coop project
By
Collège Catholique Samuel-Genest will be installing a 75-kilowatt solar panel system on its roof in collaboration with the Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-op, or OREC.
Saskatoon Community Wind
By
Saskatoon Community Wind is a community vision. 10 wind turbines located 15 to 30 kilometres from Saskatoon, owned by thousands of people from the Saskatoon region and generating 5% of our electricity.
Ontario SolarShare: $3 Million Raised in Solar Bonds!
By
SolarShare has achieved a first in Canada by raising $3 million of investment for solar energy.
Definition und Marktanalyse von Bürgerenergie in Deutschland
By
Agentur Für Erneuerbare Energien
76-page report on the ownership of renewable energy in Germany through 2012, including the original charts in German translated by Craig Morris into English.
Chronicle Herald: Community Energy projects get green light
By
A cluster of community energy projects received Nova Scotia government clearance Friday to proceed to the next stage of development. . . Each of the 13 projects from eight different groups is proceeding through the province’s Community Feed-In Tariff program that encourages locally generated clean and renewable electricity.
Boell: Please, in My Backyard: How renewable energy cooperatives advanced citizen involvement in the Germany energy transition
By
Andreas Wieg
To sum up, the broad support for Germany’s Energiewende is a result of the wide spread ownership of renewable energy production. Many citizens like to get involved in energy projects, especially in their neighborhoods.
Cultiva tu propia energía’ (Grow up your own energy
By
Friends Of The Earth
Grow up your own energy is a very visual publication from Amigos de la Tierra España (Friends of the Earth Spain) released in 2013. The document is structured in three main chapters. Firstly, it tells about the Spanish Energy System and underscores its inefficiency. Also it introduces concepts such as ‘distributed generation’. The second part is a collection of successful case studies around Spain, mainly on ‘Community Power’, but also on individuals and businesses. Finally, the third chapter encourages the reader to take action by offering a broad range of alternatives, for instance becoming a ‘solar disobedient’.
Energy by the people in Germany
By
Craig Morris
Germans can switch power providers. In fact, they are not only free as power consumers, but also free to become “prosumers” – simultaneously producers and consumers. They can even sell the power they make at a profit. Germany’s Renewable Energy Act stipulates that the little guy’s power has priority over corporations. German feed-in tariffs have helped produce all of this community ownership, thereby simultaneously reducing NIMBYism (not in my backyard).
New European Community Power Web Site Launched
By
Dubbed “Community Power–for people’s ownership of renewable energy”, the slick new web site offers a platform for expanding community ownership of renewables in the European Union.
Wind Energy and Friends of the Earth in Kassel, Germany–Some Observations
By
Paul Gipe
Over the years I’ve noted more than once the observation that most major environmental groups in Germany give a full-throated …
