What is the future of community energy?
To think strategically about our future, we need to understand our history.
One part of the history of community energy in England starts with the community energy sector in Germany. Germany was a pioneer in the development of community investment in and ownership of renewable energy generation, and of feed in tariffs, a policy which was replicated in the UK in 2009 and enabled the boom in community energy investment co-operatives like Bristol Energy Co-op and Bristol Power.
This new Community Renewables Podcast by community energy chronicler Craig Morris and Former UN Youth Delegate on Sustainable Development Rebecca Freigtag tells the story of community renewables in Germany, the impact that this has had on renewable energy worldwide, and the struggle that the German community energy faces, similar to our own, now that Feed in Tariffs have been replaced by auctions.
I heard about this podcast from an email list about energy democracy that I am on, and thought I should listen to it given what my work is all about. Turns out it’s also really fun (in a community energy geek way).
Episodes cover issues like:
- is it all about price, or are people investing in community energy because of their values?
- scale: do we need to build big, and what is the cumulative impact of lots of small investments?
- what can community energy do for rural communities?
- how the German feed in tariff policy came out of the community energy sector in the first place
Highly recommended!!!
I find time to listen to podcasts: while driving, walking, running, doing the dishes, cooking, cleaning the bathroom….
Blog by Emilia Melville – BEN co-ordinator
You can listen on: