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.
Dutch Wind Cooperative Kennermerwind Update 2013
By
Paul Gipe
I first visited Kennermerwind sometime in 1996 on assignment for the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a US environmental group.
Renewables International: People for wind power
By
Craig Morris
In Scotland, the first 100 percent co-op-owned wind turbine is going up, and in Australia, a new video shows how much locals enjoy the wind turbines on their land.
The Age: Hepburn co-op sailing with the wind
By
Michael Green
It has been a hard road: Hepburn Wind took six years to complete. But since then the project has received local, state, national and global awards. Last year it won the World Wind Energy award for best global project, judged by the industry’s international association. . . The wind farm is a co-operative – more than half its 2000 members are locals, and every member has only one vote. It was nominated as the flagship project of the UN’s International Year of Co-operatives in 2012.
Onshore wind energy development in Puglia
By
Francesco Paraggio
Presentation on Developing Locally-Owned Wind Turbines in Castellana Grotte: The Current Situation in Italy
Energy Cooperatives: Citizens, communities and local economy in good company
By
Deutscher Genossenschafts- Und Raiffeisenverband
Energy cooperatives as organisational form are growing a lot in popularity because they offer a variety of possibilities for action and design. Currently, more than 80,000 citizens in Germany hold shares in new energy cooperatives. They can already participate with small amounts. In the last years, more than 500 newly-founded energy cooperatives invested a total of 800 million euros in renewable energy. This is confirmed by a recent study of the DGRV.
ReNews: Ireland draws on local power
By
Irish energy minister Pat Rabbitte (pictured) has taken the wraps off the Republic’s first community-owned wind farm. The 4.4MW Templederry project in County Tipperary is owned by a co-operative of locals and landowners, including students, farmers and a local priest. It will have an output of about 15GWh a year.
Guardian: Remote Scottish windfarms to receive guaranteed price for their electricity
By
Severin Carrell
Community-owned windfarms on some of Scotland’s remotest islands are likely to gain from a new deal to buy their electricity at a higher price, Ed Davey, the energy and climate secretary, has said.
ResPublica: The Community Renewables Economy: Starting up, scaling up and spinning out
By
Jelte Harnmeijer,matthew Parsons,caroline Julian
ResPublica reveals that community owned energy could grow 89 times its current size if the right national and local policies are put in place. In Germany, community energy accounts for 46% of all energy produced from renewables. In the UK this figure stands at just 0.3%.
Eolico Cooperativo: Corso gratuito della durata di un giorno con Paul Gipe e Francesco Paraggio
By
Seminario sulla realizzazione di piccole e medie aziende locali per la produzione di energia tramite impianti eolici la cui proprietà sia diffusa sul territorio. Oggi questa formula, ancora poco diffusa in Italia, è un riferimento nel mercato eolico europeo. In Germania circa il 50% degli impianti è sviluppato da cooperative locali. . . Presso Consorzio Sapori & Sapori, Castellana Grotte (BA) il 29/9/2013 dalle ore 9:30 alle 18:30.
TREC: 2nd Annual Climb Toronto’s Community-Owned Wind Turbine 5-8 October 2013
By
Want a fun and challenging experience that your friends haven’t had? Want to be a trailblazer and make a real impact in the fight against climate change? Building on the success of last year’s inaugural event, TREC Education is proud to announce the 2nd annual Climb the Turbine Fundraiser, from October 5th – 8th 2013.
