Reclaiming power
By Rapid Transition Alliance Staff, Rapid Transition Alliance
The rapid rise of community renewable energy and why the added benefits of local, clean power can help accelerate transition
Tag: community energy projects
Build small, think big
By Phillip O’Sullivan, Red Pepper
Proponents of community energy, or energy cooperatives, envision a future in which small-scale renewable energy infrastructure is owned and used by local communities.
Democratizing Energy to Counter the Climate Catastrophe
By Lavinia Steinfort, ROAR Magazine
For the labor and climate justice movements to win anything close to a just recovery and a Green New Deal, we need to collectively stand up against market solutions and build on the diverse forms of energy democracy that are already being developed across Europe.
Are You Thinking About Climate Change Wrong?
By Subin DeVar, Sustainable Economies Law Center
Because beyond whether we achieve everything in the vision for a Green New Deal or not, it is inspiring that young people do not view climate change as a pass/fail test. For them, failure is not an option. Instead, the question is: how transformative will our success be?
Power for the People: How PG&E’s Failures are Spurring a Movement Toward Electric Cooperatives
By Robert Raymond, Shareable
But if there’s a silver lining to the PG&E disaster, it’s that — in the midst of filing for bankruptcy — they’ve opened up the space for conversations about alternatives. And perhaps one of the most interesting of these conversations is based on the idea of transforming the utility into a network of cooperatives: utilities owned and managed by the ratepayers themselves.
DisemPOWERed (Documentary Film Review)
By Frank Kaminski, Mud City Press
The difference between Casa Pueblo's shining example and the bleak energy reality faced by Puerto Ricans at large is the main lament of the documentary DisemPOWERed. Written and produced by anthropology and Latin American studies professor Sandy Smith-Nonini, this indie film is a meticulously researched, densely informative—yet accessible—exposé of Puerto Rico’s economic, political and energy woes.
Resolving Energy Poverty in Sarawak: Indigenous Solutions to the Climate Crisis
By Fiona McAlpine, Intercontinental Cry
Much of the climate debate centers on targets to cut fossil-fuel use, and this is where the majority of resources, campaigning and media focus their attention. But one of the most cost-effective carbon capture technologies is forests, both leaving existing forests alone and rewilding damaged ones.
Rebel Cities: These Community Wind Farms in Denmark and Scotland are Decentralising Power to the People
By Steve Rushton, Occupy.com
The future is bright for wind and renewables just about everywhere. Now it's a matter of people, and communities, recognizing and acting on that potential.
Energy Equity: Bringing Solar Power to Low-Income Communities
By Maria Galluci, Grist
Community or shared solar is broadly defined as a project where multiple participants own or lease shares in a mid-sized solar facility usually between 500 kilowatts and 5 megawatts, and receive credits that lower their monthly utility bills based on how much power the facility delivers to the grid.
Energy Democracy: Taking Back Power
By Johanna Bozuwa, The Next System Project
Electric utility (re)municipalization is gaining popularity as a strategy to shift away from a reliance on fossil fuel extraction in the context of combating climate change.
Just Transition – Part Four: the Highlands of Hydro
By Chris Silver, DeSmog UK
The achievements of the Hydro Board rank among the most successful and concentrated single instances of energy transitions. As the Scottish Government prepares to convene its commission on a Just Transition — a project to end reliance on fossil fuels in a socially equitable manner — a clear precedent does exist.
Community Choice Aggregations (CCAs)
By Chris Nelder, Energy Transition Show
What are community choice aggregations, or CCAs, and why are they suddenly playing such a huge role in wholesale power markets?
