Vermont Environmental Consortium

And

BRATTLEBORO REFORMER

#39, December 17, 2007
Greg Pahl Sees Community Solutions to the Energy Crisis
by
Daniel Hecht

The issue of where energy comes from, technologically, is only one of the important aspects of the transition to renewable energy. Its ownership also has profound implications: Who owns the raw materials and generation equipment? Who decides how energy is sourced, generated, or used?

The very nature of renewable energy prompts the question. It’s diverse in origin – solar, wind, biomass, hydro, geothermal – and distributed in location. Its net value depends largely on the economics of transport and transmission, so it’s best produced close to its natural sources and to the people who use it.

America once relied entirely on energy from wood, dams, windmills, horses, and human labor, all widely-distributed and locally- derived sources. But with the shift to fossil sources came ownership by corporate entities capable of mustering the enormous capital and manpower required to extract and transport the far-away, exotic stuff. Our infrastructure grew on the model of large, centralized refining and generating plants, owned by distant corporations, with long transmission or transport lines.

But the paradigm is shifting again. And, in the opinion of many, this change will be a blessing, bringing energy security and local jobs along with environmental benefits. According to Greg Pahl, author of The Citizen Powered Energy Handbook, it’s also an opportunity to reassert community ownership of this essential commodity.

A resident of Weybridge, Greg has written five books and now appears frequently at conferences and on radio talk shows – yet another Vermonter making a significant contribution to our national dialogue. With short-cropped graying hair and a bristle-cut mustache, he has the worried yet determined look, the somber voice and bearing, of an Army officer overseeing troops in the field. In fact, he did serve as a military intelligence officer in Germany before moving to Vermont in 1970 and beginning “a less-structured life.”

He had first come as a child, visiting his uncle, naturalist and author Ron Rood, then to study at UVM. When he returned after his military service, he lived in an off-grid house that gave him first-hand experience with renewable heat and electricity sources. He started writing on a part-time basis, eventually focusing on environmental and energy issues.

The Citizen Powered Energy Handbook provides an excellent overview of every renewable energy source and technology, including some that are still fairly obscure in the U.S. I particularly enjoyed reading about the astonishing technologies developed to tap the tireless motion of the sea; great, flexing serpentine forms are already producing electricity as they ride the waves in trials off the coast of Portugal.

More relevant to Vermont, of course, are the chapters on solar, wind, biomass, hydropower, and geothermal energy. For each, Greg provides examples of successful community supported energy (CSE) projects in various parts of the world. CSEs take many economic and social forms, he says: “There are lots of different models, and each one has its relevance to a particular place and community.” It’s a matter of what natural source is available in any locale and what choices a community makes about its energy supply: No two are alike.

At its simplest, “citizen powered” energy consists of individuals setting up their own wood-fired heating systems, solar panels, or wind turbines. On a slightly larger scale, co-housing groups can benefit from pooling cash and investing in more powerful, cost-efficient systems.

In rural areas, energy coops also serve to concentrate capital and share benefits – and empower citizens to choose energy options based on their values. Washington Electric Coop is a good Vermont example, opting to divest its portfolio of nuclear energy and invest in innovative projects such as its landfill-gas generation facilities.

Municipal governments can also play an important role. City-sponsored programs can incentivize installation of residential or business energy systems, and many American cities already operate their own conventional energy utilities and are thus well-positioned to transition to city-owned renewables.

The range of options can be surprising. For example, Boulder, Colorado installed multiple turbines in its water supply feed system, hydropower that now provides 11% of the city’s electricity. Greg strongly recommends that Vermont towns explore this possibility; since most of the infrastructure already exists – there to provide domestic water -- there’s little environmental impact and cost can be quite low.

Greg points out that CSEs can tap the enormous enthusiasm and investment capacity of average citizens; if structured well, they can encourage participation from every income bracket. And with strong community buy-in, local energy projects are less likely to run into the kind of resistance commercial wind installations have encountered in Vermont.

They can also leverage private investment. Right now, no one knows which renewable energy type or technology will ultimately prove most efficient or profitable. This uncertainty tends to suppress entrepreneurial interest in distributed, smaller energy facilities. But by partnering with communities, for-profit developers can access local capital -- highly-committed capital that’s willing to stick out low returns -- and share the risks inherent in fast-changing technologies and markets.

The Citizen-Powered Energy Handbook catalogues scores of very different CSEs and public-private joint ventures; innovative business models are emerging rapidly. Quite possibly, the trend heralds a new economic paradigm and a welcome revitalization of democratic principles. Motivated citizens of Vermont communities will find this book an invaluable source of information, useful links, and strategies to help develop local renewable energy.

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Daniel Hecht is a novelist and executive director of Vermont Environmental Consortium. For more information on any Green Grapevine topic, contact vec@norwich.edu.

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