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.
Guardian: Community energy is on the up. But will the government hobble it?
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Government energy reforms could make it impossible for new community energy projects to scale up . . .
ICM: Community owned renewable energy
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Of the 2027 GB adults interviewed 68% said they would be likely to support local renewable energy projects, including wind turbines, if they were 100% owned and controlled by the community with all the profits benefiting the community. Only 7% of respondents said they would be unlikely to support a project such as this. . .
Manifesto published to accelerate ‘community energy revolution’
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A high-profile alliance of charities, co-operatives and organisations has published a manifesto to help advance community-owned renewable energy in the UK. . .
Euractiv: Power to the people: The community-based energy transition in Europe
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Generating all energy from renewable sources is no longer a pipe dream in Europe. From Denmark to Austria, we can see examples of a successful energy transition. Germany is clearly seen as the front-runner and an important driver – especially due to its nuclear phase-out. But the energy transition is not only “made in Germany” but also “made in Europe”, says Anna Leidreiter. . .
Power to the people: Community-based energy transition surest and most effective strategy for the European energy sector
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“In order to see developments in Europe similar to those we have experienced in Germany and Denmark we need national political frameworks that enable citizens and municipalities to profit from this transition,” says Preben Maegaard, Director of the Nordic Folkecenter and President of the World Wind Energy Association. “Powering a region with 100 per cent renewable energy has been technically and economically feasible for a long time. But what is urgently needed are enabling political frameworks – such as the German EEG – as well as the combination of the electricity and heat sector.”. .
Germany’s Unlikely Renewable Energy Revolutionaries
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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
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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
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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. . .
