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PERMACULTURE MAGAZINE
Article 55
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Power From The People
Anna Blackaby describes how political will and an entrepreneurial spirit can transform a country’s capacity to generate renewable energy
Article first published in 'Permaculture Magazine' No. 55
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Mention the phrase ‘world’s leading solar power generator’ and images of sunsoaked regions like California or southern Spain probably come to many people’s mind. So it could come as a surprise to learn that the title goes to a country whose climate is not exactly famed for its blazing sunshine and one which is not so different to Britain’s: Germany.Over 300,000 photovoltaic systems are installed in Germany, generating 200 times as much solar energy as Britain. Most of these aren’t on large scale solar farms but on the roofs of ordinary people, homeowners and farmers as well as on schools, student halls of residence and office buildings. It’s a people power revolution that casts an embarrassing shadow over the UK’s renewable energy statistics.
Gordon Brown’s promise to make Britain a world leader in tackling climate change would certainly make Dietmar Helmer smile. A credit analyst by day, but outside office hours, Dietmar is a man on a mission. His declared aim – to wrestle power from the big electricity companies and hand it back to the people.
Dietmar is the man behind many of the solar panels popping up on rooftops on schools and other public buildings in the Stuttgart area. He is the driving force behind several small-scale projects in the region which go under the name of ‘Bürgerstrom,’ which translates into English as ‘people’s electricity.’
Through these projects, anyone can get involved in generating renewable energy from photovoltaics and sell it into the national grid, even if they lack a rooftop to put a solar panel on or enough cash to fund an entire installation on their home. It’s an opportunity for green-minded people to put their money where their heart is and invest in fighting climate change.
Uniting local people from all age groups and backgrounds as shareholders, anyone can invest in a Bürgerstrom project. Starting from an investment of E2,000, participants can expect to receive at least 3-4% dividends every year, at a conservative estimate. “We have all kinds of people: manual labourers, office workers, housewives and freelancers, both young and old. I’ve even got a 79 year old man who wanted to be part of this even though he won’t be around for the 20 year guaranteed lifetime of the project. There’s a motivation to do some thing for the grandchildren. It’s a meaningful present,” says Dietmar.
An example of a Bürgerstrom project can be found on the roof of a local secondary school, the Real-schule Remseck, set up in 2005. “I spoke with the local authority about the possibility of starting some projects together with local people on the roofs of public buildings,” explains Dietmar. “The director of planning and the district council was very open to the idea and decided in favour of us going ahead.” In exchange for using the rooftops, the local authority asks for a token symbolic sum as rent.
“The school roof is ideal,” says Dietmar. “It’s south facing and the yields from the last two years have shown that it was the right decision.” The school’s roof generates more than 22,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. In other words, enough elec-tricity to power six four bedroom houses. Several other Bürgerstrom projects are operating in the area, including a local council building roof-top in nearby Pattonville. The latest baby in the family is another school rooftop in the town of Ostfildern. It’s the biggest so far, with a predicted 36,000 kilowatt hours per year.
Dietmar, who signs off all his emails with the phrase ‘sunny greetings,’ is a social entrepreneur as well as an envir-onmentalist. He explains the philosophy behind Bürgerstrom. “I’m creating awareness of a sustainable economy where economic, environmental and social aspects are not in conflict, rather they complement each other,” says Dietmar. “The environment wins, the electricity user wins, the state wins. There’s only one loser, the energy monopolist.”
Leading With Legislation
So why isn’t this power shift happen-ing in the UK as well? Where are the UK versions of Dietmar’s solar environmental entrepreneurs? Despite an Energy Saving Trust study which suggested that by 2050, microgeneration could provide 30-40% of the UK’s electricity needs, we are way behind the German figures.
The reason Germany holds the solar world champion title lies in legislation passed by the German parliament. In 2000, a new renewable energy law came into being which obliged electricity companies to buy power generated on a small scale from renewable sources for above market prices over a 20 year period. This is known as a feed-in tariff policy.
Thanks to feed-in tariffs, solar generated electricity from the Real-schule Remseck and the other Bürgerstrom projects can be sold to the big power companies at higher rates than microgenerators in the UK can expect. This means that the costs of buying the expensive photovoltaic installations can be covered much more quickly than they would be in Britain.
The consequences of this are immense. In Germany, putting a solar panel on your roof is no longer just an altruistic act to preserve the world for your grandchildren, reserved only for the very rich or the very dedicated, but also a viable commercial investment.
Here in the UK, there’s no lack of will amongst the population to embrace microgeneration, whether to reduce their carbon footprint, to increase their own self sufficiency or as a green business proposition. But it’s clear that the UK’s promotion of microgeneration is not working as well as Germany’s.
The UK government has decided not to implement feed-in tariffs and has instead adopted a grants system to support would-be microgenerators. Home owners who want to install photovoltaic panels on their roof can apply for a grant of up to £2,500 from the government’s Low Carbon Buildings scheme. Given that an average installation costs around £10,000, many people are put off by the costs involved.
Stephen Barrett is managing director of Bristol-based solar company Solarsense Ltd. Despite the meagre grants available, Stephen is opti-mistic about the potential for solar power in the UK but admits things could be better. “It’s mainly the wealthier 50+ age group – green-minded people living in rural areas – that install solar power in the UK. To bring it to mass market, we would need a feed-in tariff. The kinds of projects we are seeing in Germany would be opened up to the UK if we had a feed-in tariff.”
Miguel Mendonça is one of the most active campaigners for feed-in tariffs in the UK. “The UK can replicate the success of Spain and Germany. The problem is that we don’t have the necessary policies, and we’ve never really had serious promotion of renewable energy here. Public awareness is low compared to much of Europe.”
UK Politicians Pose Threat
It seems that the issue of micro-generation appears to have been swept under the carpet in the UK. But that’s not all; UK politicians might even be a threat to Germany’s flourishing microgeneration community.
To meet its renewables targets, the British government has opted for a quota system where the big elect-ricity companies have to source a certain proportion of their energy from renewable sources. If they can’t, they can ‘buy in’ green certificates from others who have exceeded their targets. Senior UK officials want to see renewable energy policies stream-lined throughout the EU, with a UK style quota system in place instead of feed-in tariffs.
This would effectively turn the lights off for Bürgerstrom, which relies on the fixed feed-in tariffs. “If you don’t know whether and at what price the electricity you generate will be taken, then of course people wouldn’t invest. For Germany, the quota system would definitely be a setback and demand for small projects would certainly collapse,” says Dietmar.
Bürgerstrom shows that the energy supply chain can be turned upside down, and previously passive consumers can take action to bring more desperately needed renewable energy to the grid. Let’s hope that British politicians don’t get their way so the sun can continue to shine on Dietmar and the Bürgerstrom investors
Useful Website: http://www.epia.org/index.php?id=86
Anna Blackaby is a freelance journalist and translator. Having lived in Germany, she believes that the UK can learn a lot from the progressive environmental attitudes and exciting projects happening there. Her work has appeared in Green Futures and Guardian Abroad.
The fully illustrated version of this article appears in PM55 and can be purchased as the current issue. |
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