Scotland’s clean energy future is community owned. Can the United States follow suit?
Excerpt from this story from Earth Island:
All across Scotland — and throughout Europe — communities are taking control of their energy sources, often adopting renewables and even making profits in the process. In Scotland alone, roughly 90 community-run renewables projects produce more than 80 megawatts of energy. In Denmark, where one-fifth of energy comes from wind, 85 percent of wind power is community-owned. In Germany, local residents control nearly half of all renewable energy. Europe as a whole hosts at least 1,500 energy cooperatives.
Who owns the electricty that lights your home, washes your clothes, and boils your kettle every morning? In the US, chances are it’s a for-profit company, probably an investor-owned utility. These businesses serve nearly three-quarters of all US electricity users. The industry has become increasingly consolidated among a small group of major players. As of 2016, the nation’s largest electric utility, Exelon, served nearly 9 million customers across six states for an annual profit of more than $30 billion.
So far, the renewable energy industry is no different. Last year, clean energy investments in the US surged to a record-high $55.5 billion. Major corporations are leading the transition. One of the biggest players is Berkshire Hathaway Energy, part of Warren Buffett’s multinational empire. The company owns nearly 8,000 megawatts of wind energy and 1,500 megawatts of solar, including one of the country’s largest solar installations, California’s 550-megawatt Topaz Solar Farm. An even bigger scheme, the 690-megawatt Gemini Solar Project, is planned for Nevada’s Mojave Desert.
Some renewable energy experts doubt that large companies are the equitable answer to cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Investor-owned utilities “have other interests at heart,” according to Maria McCoy, a research associate at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ISLR), a research and advocacy group that seeks to help build an American economy driven by local priorities instead of corporate control. “Earning a return on investments and padding the pockets of shareholders come at a price, often paid by customers.”
Ecosystems also pick up the tab. Renewables inevitably use land, but deciding where, and how much, is up to the producer. Because large renewable energy projects need plenty of room, private companies sometimes build them in remote open spaces, including near national parks. NextEra Energy’s 550-megawatt Desert Sunlight Solar Farm, for instance, sits just outside of Joshua Tree National Park, and has been criticized for its potential impacts on rare plants and imperiled wildlife. In contrast, smaller-scale installations are easier to build on unused pockets of land, such as rooftops and brownfield sites.
