Study on Community Wind launched: Community Wind threatened by discriminating policies
Studie zur Bürgerenergie vorgestellt: Bürgerwind wird durch diskriminierende Politik bedroht
– Paris climate agreement can only be implemented successfully if based on strong social mobilization
– Practitioners and experts underline key role of small and community based investors for Energiewende
– WWEA presents 10 elements of a global community power strategy
Bonn, 22 March 2016 (WWEA) – WWEA and LEE NRW, the Renewable Energy Association of the German state North-Rhine Westfalia, launched today a study on the current status, main drivers and barriers of community based wind farms. CEOs of community wind farms and other experts were interviewed on favorable and detrimental factors for community wind. The answers reflected unanimously great concerns about the current trend towards auction systems for power from renewable energy. Auctions are usually setting up insurmountable barriers for community based investors. In contrast, simple feed-in tariff systems have been assessed as having paved the way for broad citizens’ participation and community wind farms.
So far, community owned wind farms have been a mainstream investment model in particular in Germany and previously in Denmark, with very positive impact on social acceptance and on distribution of economic benefits, especially on locally added value. Community wind holds globally vast potential for the energy transition from a fossil and nuclear based energy regime towards a democratic, decentralised, emission-free, and truly sustainable energy system. The world has agreed during the COP21 in Paris to achieve such a greenhouse fas neutral, i.e. in fact 100 % renewable energy energy supply by the year 2050, hence it is obvious that governments will have to mobilise their citizens and communities to invest in renewable energy.
