[P2P-F] Fwd: Does Your Community Export Energy? Here's One That Will

Wed Apr 17 18:44:04 CEST 2013

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From: John Robb (Resilient Communities) <admin at resilientcommunities.com>
Date: Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 3:06 AM
Subject: Does Your Community Export Energy? Here's One That Will
To: michelsub2004 at gmail.com

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       Does Your Community Export Energy? Here's One That Will
  By John Robb

Here's a question to get you thinking about something other than the return
of terrorism.

It's similar to a question that I've asked
before<https://cs962.infusionsoft.com/app/linkClick/9212/4025feb568ed57c1/1935084/1cc84b4e5ad24561>
.

*Is your community an energy exporter?*

Seems ludicrous, doesn't it?  It isn't.  It's a very serious question.

Your community *should* be exporting energy.  The technology and the
economics are now favorable for it.

So, if your community isn't, it's time to change that.

Here's an example of one way to do it.

*Lancaster*

There's a small city in California called Lancaster.  They've got a dynamic
mayor that's geared up to do something to reverse his community's slide
into economic oblivion (a trend across the US and Europe).

To do that, he's turning Lancaster into an energy exporter.  They are
installing inexpensive solar panel systems all over the city. Further,
every new home built must produce *at least* a kW of solar power.

They didn't do this overnight.  The effort started three years ago with
some pilot projects -- city hall, churches, and local businesses -- that
yielded experience and good results.

The most recent project was the installation of over 32,000 panels on the
city's 25 schools. Together they generate 7.5 megawatts of power.  Here's a
picture of a Lancaster school with solar panel carports (they found that
these were much easier to install inexpensively than rooftop systems on old
construction).

[image: Lancaster
Schools]<https://cs962.infusionsoft.com/app/linkClick/9214/6a7add944dd36b9c/1935084/1cc84b4e5ad24561>

To drive down costs, the city created a municipal power company called
the Lancaster
Power Authority<https://cs962.infusionsoft.com/app/linkClick/9216/7f7af1a1f2f5d4eb/1935084/1cc84b4e5ad24561>.
A
municipal utility allows the city to negotiate aggressively with solar
equipment vendors and service providers.

The utility also serves as a new business incubator to help entrepreneurs
with innovative ways to generate solar power get the support and help they
need to prototype it.

The way things are going right now, Lancaster will soon be sell more
electricity to neighbors than it uses.  Also, given the scale involved, I
suspect Lancaster will be able to extract premium pricing as a power
producer long term (solar power can sell at a premium price many times what
it retails for when it coincides with peak usage periods).

This is just one approach, but I hope it gives you some ideas for how to
build a community that can power itself forward.

Yours,

JOHN ROBB

[image: JR Small]<https://cs962.infusionsoft.com/app/linkClick/9218/829d4427e947b202/1935084/1cc84b4e5ad24561>

PS:  If you like thinking at the global level, here's something to think
about:  There are 2 ways to save the world.   A) reduce/cut back or B)
produce more locally.  One works, the other doesn't.  One creates a vibrant
and dynamic future that will be widely adopted, the other doesn't/won't.

Hint:  People that produce more locally tend to use less of everything they
produce.  Why?  They appreciate it more.

       For your convenience, John Robb will deliver his articles straight
to your inbox each time a post is made! I look forward to the ongoing
conversation and you're always welcome to post your comments at
www.resilientcommunities.com<https://cs962.infusionsoft.com/app/linkClick/5813/031e0b62f30ad32c/1935084/1cc84b4e5ad24561>.

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