Ashton Hayes Goes Carbon Neutral
UK
The tightly-knit community of Ashton Hayes, located in rural Cheshire, is trying to become the first completely carbon neutral town in England. Since the project began in 2006, they have significantly cut back CO2 emissions – in part by running their own community-owned renewable energy company. Today, representatives from towns around the world are traveling to Ashton Hayes to learn from their model. Learn more at Ashton Hayes’ website or by reading “English Village Becomes Climate Leader by Quietly Cleaning Up Its Own Patch” in the New York Times.
Photo by Andrew (CC BY 2.0)
Building A Local Economy (BALE)
USA
BALE engages in a number of grassroots community localization initiatives from their home base in the White River watershed of Vermont. The overarching goal of these efforts is “to build appropriately scaled solutions from the ground up, taking back, as much as possible, our economy, our culture, and our democratic instruments by re-injecting humanity and authentic relationships into all that we do.” Projects include The Commons @ BALE (a community space open to all and used most evenings of the year), a community solar initiative, a local investment club, a documentary film series, and a Locally Grown Guide to local businesses. Learn about these projects and more at https://balevt.org.
Photo by BALE
Evergreen Cooperative Initiative
USA
The Evergreen Cooperative Initiative, in Cleveland, Ohio, is an inspiring example of community-based economic revitalization in action. Their overarching purpose is to reduce poverty and inequality by building community wealth, democratizing ownership, and creating local green jobs for residents of one of the city’s high-unemployment, low- income neighborhoods. To learn more, visit the Evergreen Cooperatives’ website.
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Low Carbon Hub
UK
Partnering with local schools, businesses and community groups, Low Carbon Hub turns unused roof-space, fields and locks into renewable energy power stations, raising money to do so through community share offers. These investments, they explain, “put ownership of local renewable energy generation in the hands of local people and keep revenues, jobs and community benefit funds circulating in the local economy.” For more information visit Low Carbon Hub. Or read Low Carbon Hub’s Manifesto.
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New Energy Economy
USA
New Energy Economy (NEE) is an initiative in New Mexico dedicated to advancing community-based solutions to climate change that reduce pollution, create jobs, and strengthen the clean energy economy. NEE takes a multi-pronged approach: they campaign against dirty and dangerous energy sources like coal and nuclear power plants; they promote innovative renewable energy policies to help transition New Mexico towards a new local energy economy; and they install community solar electric systems and energy efficiency projects throughout the state. To learn more, visit New Energy Economy’s website.
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Our Hamburg, Our Grid
Germany
Our Hamburg, Our Grid decided to bring decision-making power back to the community by ousting energy giant Vattenfall and creating a local power utility that enables the city to provide greener, more reliable and less expensive energy, with greater accountability. To learn more, visit Our Hamburg, Our Grid, and watch this short video about a similar successful campaign in Boulder, Colorado (USA).
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Resilient Power Puerto Rico
USA
Puerto Rico has suffered mightily under the neocolonial control of the United States. When Hurricane Maria hit in Fall 2017, it was an unprecedented disaster, but also a unique opportunity for Puerto Ricans to seize local control in the wake of the US government’s neglect. Resilient Power Puerto Rico was founded after Maria’s devastation, and is bringing human-scale solar technology to hard-hit parts of the island by distributing solar-electric power kits, and the knowledge of how to install them. Their goal is for each neighborhood to be self-reliant when it comes to power, and to end the island’s dependence on the top-down fossil fuel economy. Learn about their work on the Resilient Power PR website.
Sundaya
Indonesia
Based in West Java, Indonesia, Sundaya has produced and distributed home-scale solar energy kits to off-grid communities across the world for more than 25 years. The simple 12-volt systems do not require expertise, tools, or literacy to install, and the small scale of the systems frees people from the dangers of high-voltage wiring, from frequent power outages, and from dependence on fossil fuels and on systems that cannot easily be repaired locally. The kits are also designed to teach energy literacy – including the nature of energy, managing electricity production, usage and storage, and mindfulness of resource use. To learn more, visit mysundaya.com.
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