A Call for an Energy Democracy

As we enter a time of increasing energy scarcity and mounting pressure on our overheated environment, it’s a good time to take a deep breath and ask the question: What do we hope to see in our energy future?

Most of us will cite renewable energies as the key, or reduced emissions of carbon dioxide, or perhaps we want greater independence from foreign oil. But these visions have recently given rise to some questionable efforts, such as the push to build giant transmission corridors to access distant wind resources. Recently we have even seen an increased willingness to take a fresh look at nuclear power.

But there’s another vision for our energy future that doesn’t lead to such bizarre results. Instead, it leads to stronger, more self-reliant communities. It reaffirms local sovereignty over energy resources, allowing communities to decide for themselves how they will meet their energy challenges.

The vision I’m speaking of is an energy democracy. In an energy democracy, the focus shifts away from technology, and towards people. Decisions about energy are made based on how they empower communities, and provide opportunities for civic participation. If this sounds too theoretical, consider all the ways that our current energy system has disempowered us. We say that we live in a democracy, yet we depend almost entirely on corporations located outside our communities to provide our energy needs. Can the people have power in such a system?

Democracy begins in our communities, so it is within them that we must re-empower ourselves by re-creating the ability to provide our energy needs. And there are practical ways to begin that process. Taking local ownership of the electric power system opens up the potential to use feed-in tariffs to favor local, independent generators of energy. District heating systems can similarly empower local thermal energy providers. And small-scale biofuel production can be done locally without putting the stress on food production that we have seen when biofuel experiments are attempted on an industrial scale.

In a democracy, by definition, the power is held by the people. Until this is literally the case, I don't see how we can claim to have one.