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.
Germany’s Unlikely Renewable Energy Revolutionaries
By
Paul Hockenos
For the most part, Germany’s new energy producers are home owners, small and medium-sided businesses, and farmers, many of the latter who faced ruin only a decade ago. At the heart of Germany’s alternative energy bonanza is the country’s reputed Mittelstand: the nation’s well-situated, educated, conservative, entrepreneurial-minded middle class, which is the backbone of its economy. . .
Renewables International: Why Denmark is so successful with renewables
By
Craig Morris
Proponents of renewables around the world rightly look to Germany to see how things can be done. Germans themselves often look to Denmark. What do the Danes do differently? . .
Rabble: The growth of community-owned green energy in Canada
By
Community power was given a boost this summer with the release of the second round of Nova Scotia’s Community Feed-In Tariff (COMFIT) projects on July 9, 2012 and Ontario’s FIT 2.0 Program Rules on August 10, 2012. . .
Troy Media: Ontario’s Green Energy Revolution Started with a Single Wind Turbine
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Toronto Renewable Energy Cooperative’s Lone Wind Turbine in Urban Toronto Started a Debate on the Future of Electricity in Ontario. . .
LBNL: The Impact of Wind Development on County-Level Income and Employment: A Review of Methods and an Empirical Analysis (Fact Sheet)
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Locally-owned projects provide more than double the economic benefit of absentee owned wind projects. . .
Living from the air of the sky: The first citizen’s owned wind turbine in Catalonia
By
Josep Puig
On March 10th, 2009 a special event took place in Barcelona: the 25th anniversary of the commissioning of the first modern wind turbine connected to the grid: the Ecotècnia 12/15, installed in Valldevià (Vilopriu, Emprodà, Catalunya) in 1984. . .
Renewables International Craig Morris: Community ownership & Crowdfunding for renewables
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Although the average PV array size in Germany is growing, arrays that might be considered commercial or utility-scale in other countries are generally still owned by citizens in Germany. Now, a Berlin-based startup has launched an Internet platform for community-owned solar arrays to facilitate not only financing, but also the sharing of technical, legal, and business expertise. A recent 9.7 MW array shows how community ownership works even on a large scale. . .
Ottawa Renewable Energy Cooperative Completes First Preference Share Offering!
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OREC closed its first preference share offering on August 27, 2012. Over $900,000 was subscribed which will now be invested in already approved FIT solar projects in 2012. . .
