In the online discussion of the role of residential solar power in the transition to reduce GHG emissions in energy generation in Nova Scotia the idea of organizing around the concept of Energy Democracy has been suggested.
The International Energy Democracy alliance hopes different groups over the world can be connected in the fight for energy democracy. They have created an open knowledge platform (Energy-democracy.net) maintained by the International Energy Democracy Alliance.
Over 300 groups and persons from across the world exchange via the energy democracy mailing list key developments and materials to advance the struggle for a just transition towards energy democracy. The website and mailing list are open spaces in which we welcome your contributions and participation. Let us know your stories on (fights for) energy democracy and relevant resources.1
Image source: https://energy-democracy.net/
The Climate Justice Alliance addresses the question of “What is Energy Democracy?”
Energy Democracy represents a shift from the corporate, centralized fossil fuel economy to one that is governed by communities, is designed on the principle of no harm to the environment, supports local economies, and contributes to the health and well-being for all peoples. CJA is committed to the goal of maintaining global temperatures at a 1.5 Celsius increase above pre-industrial levels. At the same time, we are committed to the principles that protect workers, communities, the rights of nature, and the rights of future generations.2
Scientists, economists, and scholars in public policy and community development report on the challenges and opportunities of operationalizing Energy Democracy in Vermont.
The transition away from fossil fuels toward more renewable-based energy systems is underway taking shape differently in different communities, states, and countries throughout the world (Brown et al., 2015; Princen et al., 2015). Although there is a common tendency to view the renewable transition in technical and economic terms, current energy system changes involve much more than a technical substitution from fossil fuels to renewable electricity generation; this transition also involves social, institutional, and cultural innovations (Stephens et al., 2015). Energy democracy is an emergent social movement focused on advancing renewable energy transitions by resisting the dominant energy agenda while reclaiming and democratically restructuring energy regimes (Burke and Stephens, 2017; Van Veelen and Van Der Horst, 2018). By integrating technological change with the potential for socioeconomic and political change, the movement links social justice and equity with all kinds of innovation in energy (both social and technical innovations). The energy democracy movement seeks to create opportunities for destabilizing power relations (Angel, 2016a), reversing histories of dispossession, marginalization (Duda, 2015; Farrell, 2016) and social and environmental injustices (EDANY, 2016), and replacing monopolized fossil fuel energy systems with democratic and renewable structures (Kunze, 2014). Above all, energy democracy offers a set of visionary organizing principles that provide guidance for democratically restructuring the energy and electricity sectors through the processes of shifting from fossil fuel-based systems to renewable energy systems (Sweeney, 2014; Angel, 2016b).3
Review and analysis of energy innovations in the state of Vermont provides valuable insights on operationalizing energy democracy principles and policies as part of the renewable energy transition. Vermont is one of the smallest states in the United States with a total population of only 626,560 people. It has integrated social and technical innovation in its efforts to move toward the climate-justified goal of achieving 90% renewable energy by 2050. The unique innovative environment in Vermont with respect to energy transitions and energy democracy may be a model that fits well with the demographics and tradition of cooperation in Nova Scotia.
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