Set up a power station; retrofit a neighbourhood – Communities tackling the energy crisis
What if, instead of putting the pressure on each person, we explored what communities can do together to get through this and be stronger in future crises?
community energy projects
No space for a heat pump? Here’s how your whole street could get off gas heating
From spiralling fossil fuel prices and volatile supply chains to the worsening climate crisis, there has never been a better time to stop heating homes with natural gas.
Catching the sun: How communities create their own people-powered solar solutions
The following is excepted from To Catch the Sun: Inspiring Stories of Communities Coming Together to Harness Their Own Solar Energy, and How You Can Do It Too! by Lonny Grafman and Dr. Joshua M. Pearce.
Citizen-led retrofitting – how the poor relation of climate policy is becoming its secret weapon
Citizen-led retrofitting, long the poor relation of climate policy, could now be its secret weapon in accelerating rapid transition.
A people-powered legacy: community hydro on the River Thames
The slogan on the mural sums up the driving-force behind Reading Hydro perfectly: “This energy is by the people, for the people.” And the people are inspired to do more.
How to Run a Solarize Program
I get these crazy ideas sometimes. I thought doing a Solarize project (getting solar PV panels put on rooftops) would be a great project for Transition Town Media.
Reclaiming power
The rapid rise of community renewable energy and why the added benefits of local, clean power can help accelerate transition
Build small, think big
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
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?
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
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)
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.