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Energy Democracy
Energy democracy is a concept developed within the environmental justice movement that pairs the renewable energy transition with efforts to democratize the production and management of energy resources— including the social ownership of energy infrastructure, decentralization of energy systems, and expansion of public participation in energy-related policymaking. Rather than view decarbonization as a purely technological challenge, energy democracy identifies the renewable energy transition as an opportunity to redistribute political and economic power toward egalitarian ends. Energy democracy has been endorsed by community organizations, think tanks, labor unions, and NGOs as a framework for decarbonization. The concept is also associated with a number of campaigns in Europe and North America calling for the municipalization of energy companies and democratization of their governance structures. Principles The exact definition of energy democracy is contested and the term is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Environmental Justice Movement
Environmental justice is a social movement to address the unfair exposure of poor and marginalized communities to harms from hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses.Schlosberg, David. (2007) ''Defining Environmental Justice: Theories, Movements, and Nature''. Oxford University Press. The movement has generated hundreds of studies showing that exposure to environmental harms is inequitably distributed. The global environmental justice movement arises from place-based environmental conflicts in which local environmental defenders frequently confront multi-national corporations in resource extraction or other industries. Local outcomes of these conflicts are increasingly influenced by trans-national environmental justice networks. The movement began in the United States in the 1980s and was heavily influenced by the American civil rights movement. The original conception of environmental justice in the 1980s focused on harms to marginalised racial groups wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Community Wind Energy
Community wind projects are locally owned by farmers, investors, businesses, schools, utilities, or other public or private entities who utilize wind energy to support and reduce energy costs to the local community. The key feature is that local community members have a significant, direct financial stake in the project beyond land lease payments and tax revenue. Projects may be used for on-site power or to generate wholesale power for sale, usually on a commercial-scale greater than 100 kW. Community wind farms Australia The Hepburn Wind Project is a wind farm at Leonards Hill near Daylesford, Victoria, north-west of Melbourne, Victoria. It comprises two 2MW wind turbines which produce enough power for 2,300 households.Victorian community goes it alone on wind farm ''ABC News'', July 25, 200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Environmental Justice
Environmental justice is a social movement to address the unfair exposure of poor and marginalized communities to harms from hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses.Schlosberg, David. (2007) ''Defining Environmental Justice: Theories, Movements, and Nature''. Oxford University Press. The movement has generated hundreds of studies showing that exposure to environmental harms is inequitably distributed. The global environmental justice movement arises from place-based environmental conflicts in which local environmental defenders frequently confront multi-national corporations in resource extraction or other industries. Local outcomes of these conflicts are increasingly influenced by trans-national environmental justice networks. The movement began in the United States in the 1980s and was heavily influenced by the American civil rights movement. The original conception of environmental justice in the 1980s focused on harms to marginalised racial groups ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Distributed Generation
Distributed generation, also distributed energy, on-site generation (OSG), or district/decentralized energy, is electrical generation and storage performed by a variety of small, grid-connected or distribution system-connected devices referred to as distributed energy resources (DER). Conventional power stations, such as coal-fired, gas, and nuclear powered plants, as well as hydroelectric dams and large-scale solar power stations, are centralized and often require electric energy to be transmitted over long distances. By contrast, DER systems are decentralized, modular, and more flexible technologies that are located close to the load they serve, albeit having capacities of only 10 megawatts (MW) or less. These systems can comprise multiple generation and storage components; in this instance, they are referred to as hybrid power systems. DER systems typically use renewable energy sources, including small hydro, biomass, biogas, solar power, wind power, and geothermal power, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Energy Democracy
Energy democracy is a concept developed within the environmental justice movement that pairs the renewable energy transition with efforts to democratize the production and management of energy resources— including the social ownership of energy infrastructure, decentralization of energy systems, and expansion of public participation in energy-related policymaking. Rather than view decarbonization as a purely technological challenge, energy democracy identifies the renewable energy transition as an opportunity to redistribute political and economic power toward egalitarian ends. Energy democracy has been endorsed by community organizations, think tanks, labor unions, and NGOs as a framework for decarbonization. The concept is also associated with a number of campaigns in Europe and North America calling for the municipalization of energy companies and democratization of their governance structures. Principles The exact definition of energy democracy is contested and the term is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wadebridge Renewable Energy Network
Wadebridge Renewable Energy Network (WREN) based in Wadebridge, Cornwall, is a grass roots social enterprise aiming to transform the area into the first solar powerered and renewable energy powered town in the UK. The group plans to install 1 MW peak capacity of solar panels; with ten installations already in place and another ninety planned they hope to generate at least a third of its electricity from solar and wind power by 2015. The WREN Steering Group consists of residents, councillors from Cornwall Council and Wadebridge Town Council, together with representatives of the Wadebridge Chamber of Commerce. The scheme could also generate £450,000 a year for the town with money coming from a Feed-in tariff which offers a premium price for renewable energy. The county council has granted planning permission for four new solar farms and sent plans for a further five out for consultation. In February 2012 the WREN project was awarded £68,000 as part of the coalition Government's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soft Energy Path
In 1976, energy policy analyst Amory Lovins coined the term soft energy path to describe an alternative future where energy efficiency and appropriate renewable energy sources steadily replace a centralized energy system based on fossil and nuclear fuels. Background Amory Lovins came to prominence in 1976 when he published an article in ''Foreign Affairs'' called "Energy Strategy: The Road Not Taken?". Lovins argued that the United States had arrived at an important crossroads and could take one of two paths. The first, supported by U.S. policy, promised a future of steadily increasing reliance on dirty fossil fuels and nuclear fission, and had serious environmental risks. The alternative, which Lovins called "the soft path," favored "benign" sources of renewable energy like wind power and solar power, along with a heightened commitment to energy conservation and energy efficiency. In October 1977, ''The Atlantic'' ran a cover story on Lovins's ideas. Soft vs hard Lovins viewed th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Remote Area Power Supply
A stand-alone power system (SAPS or SPS), also known as remote area power supply (RAPS), is an off-the-grid electricity system for locations that are not fitted with an electricity distribution system. Typical SAPS include one or more methods of electricity generation, energy storage, and regulation. Electricity is typically generated by one or more of the following methods: * Photovoltaic system using solar panels * Wind turbine * Geothermal source * Micro combined heat and power * Micro hydro * Diesel or biofuel generator * Thermoelectric generator (TEGs) Storage is typically implemented as a battery bank, but other solutions exist including fuel cells. Power drawn directly from the battery will be direct current extra-low voltage (DC ELV), and this is used especially for lighting as well as for DC appliances. An inverter is used to generate AC low voltage, which more typical appliances can be used with. Stand-alone photovoltaic power systems are independent of the ut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Economic Democracy
Economic democracy is a socioeconomic philosophy that proposes to shift decision-making power from corporate managers and corporate shareholders to a larger group of public stakeholders that includes workers, customers, suppliers, neighbours and the broader public. No single definition or approach encompasses economic democracy, but most proponents claim that modern property relations externalize costs, subordinate the general well-being to private profit and deny the polity a democratic voice in economic policy decisions. In addition to these moral concerns, economic democracy makes practical claims, such as that it can compensate for capitalism's inherent effective demand gap. Proponents of economic democracy generally argue that modern capitalism periodically results in economic crises characterized by deficiency of effective demand as society is unable to earn enough income to buy its output production. Corporate monopoly of common resources typically creates artificia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Just Transition
Just transition is a framework developed by the trade union movement to encompass a range of social interventions needed to secure workers' rights and livelihoods when economies are shifting to sustainable production, primarily combating climate change and protecting biodiversity. In Europe, advocates for a just transition want to unite social and climate justice, for example, for coal workers in coal-dependent developing regions who lack employment opportunities beyond coal. Definition In the past years, a number of organizations have deployed the concept of a Just Transition with respect to environmental and/or climate justice. In policy International policy At the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, France, or COP 21, unions and just transition advocates convinced the Parties to include language regarding just transition and the creation of decent work in the Paris Agreement’s preamble. At the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Kat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prosumers
A prosumer is an individual who both consumes and produces. The term is a portmanteau of the words '' producer'' and ''consumer''. Research has identified six types of prosumers: DIY prosumers, self-service prosumers, customizing prosumers, collaborative prosumers, monetised prosumers, and economic prosumers. The terms ''prosumer'' and ''prosumption'' were coined in 1980 by American futurist Alvin Toffler, and were widely used by many technology writers of the time. Technological breakthrough and a rise in user participation blurs the line between production and consumption activities, with the consumer becoming a prosumer. Definitions and contexts Prosumers have been defined as "individuals who consume and produce value, either for self-consumption or consumption by others, and can receive implicit or explicit incentives from organizations involved in the exchange." The term has since come to refer to a person using commons-based peer production. In the digital and online wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Community Solar Farm
A community solar project, farm or garden is a solar power installation that accepts capital from and provides output credit and tax benefits to multiple customers, including individuals, businesses, nonprofits, and other investors. Participants typically invest in or subscribe to a certain kW capacity or kWh generation of remote, electrical production. The project's power output is credited to investors or subscribers in proportion to their investment, with adjustments to reflect ongoing changes in capacity, technology, costs and electricity rates. Community solar provides direct access to the renewable energy to customers who cannot install it themselves. Companies, cooperatives, governments or non-profits operate the systems. As of 2021, there are 39 U.S. states with at least one community solar project. Benefits of community solar Installing solar panels on a building or household can come with a variety of issues. For homeowners, these limitations range from roof shape/si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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