Andy
Germany has plans to get 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2050. That might seem like a distant goal, but one small village has already achieved it.
The roots of the experiment go back to 1995, when engineering student Michael Raschemann proposed erecting 4 wind turbines on land owned by the local cooperative. In partnership with the renewable energy firm Energiequelle (Raschemann is a co-founder) Feldheim gradually expanded the wind park to its current size, of 55 turbines. The village wind farm produces so much renewable energy that most of what it produces is sold on the energy market.
From there, currently with a wind farm, solar park, biogas plant, and Germany’s largest battery storage system, the village is independent of the regional utility grid, getting all its electricity and heat from a local grid paid for by residents, the municipality, EU subsidies and loans.
This is a showcase for De-centralized solution to power production. Another example of local solutions being successful compared to Mega sized projects.
References
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzSb5WTE5Lw
- http://fortune.com/2016/05/11/germany-excess-power/
- http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/power-from-the-people/article17893853.ece
