Sustainable energy is one of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that the UN has come up with. Lillian Sol Cueva reflects what this means for Latin America and how the goal could be achieved.
All posts tagged: Local Ownership
The solar price revolution
Solar power is rapidly becoming the cheapest source of electricity available in many regions of the world. It will help limit climate change, allow the electrification of remote areas and democratize energy production, as Klaus Töpfer explains.
No more big power plants? Civic energy could provide half our electricity by 2050
In Germany, energy democracy has been a central pillar of the Energiewende. Now, a British research team has proven that in 2050 half of the UK’s electricity could come from small-scale civic projects if the energy sector is reorganized accordingly. Stephen Hall summarizes the findings.
“Energy wasted by design”
In 1985, German researchers at a newly founded institute called Öko-Institut published a book called “The Energiewende is possible” investigating why no progress had been made since the original proposal five years earlier. Craig Morris says the book’s analysis can be summed up in one word: brilliant.
Civic participation in the Energiewende: What Germany can learn from Denmark
Traditionally, Denmark has been a frontrunner in community energy. Due to policy changes, the civil society has had to look for new, more integrated business models. The Danish experience can serve as a blueprint for the future of Germany’s cooperatives, argues Boris Gotchev.
Few new German energy co-ops in 2014
According to a study published in January, only 29 citizen energy cooperatives were founded in Germany last year. The German Citizen Energy Alliance says the low number is a sign that the energy sector is being handed back to big business. Craig Morris investigates.
Local energy brings greater democracy in Poland
Poland is clearly far from being a leader on climate action – it still uses coal to generate nearly 90 per cent of its electricity. However, below the doom and gloom headlines there are glimmers of hope that reveal a burgeoning will to join the global transition towards a clean energy future. Philippa Nuttall Jones finds that a growing sector of the population is increasingly seeing community energy as a means to a more democratic future.
How winning over rural constituents changed the political discussions on renewables in Germany
In Germany, support for the Energiewende is not a matter of party membership. It is a field where all parties are active and generally support the Energiewende. To understand this political consensus, one needs to look to rural Germany, explains Alexander Franke.
A small town in Germany becomes a testing ground for a smart grid
In the 1990s, the small Bavarian town of Wildpoldsried decided to embrace renewables. Today, it produces several times the energy it consumes and has become a testing ground for future smart grid technologies, as Laurie Guevara-Stone notes.
Lessons from Belgium for Germany
In his previous post, Craig Morris tells the tale of Ecopower, a renewable energy co-op and energy provider. Today, he investigates how it takes part in auctions, the quality of which is crucial.