Civic leaders of the German community of Wildpoldsried had the foresight and vision back in the late nineties to enact and implement an initiative to end dependence upon centralized and fossilized electricity. Now Wildpoldsried produces 321% of its energy needs, selling the excess back to the national grid and earning millions in annual revenue. The revenue is being reinvested locally into the community creating family wage jobs and expanding their renewable energy electricity production.
Ok, those Germans are just showing off now. Not only has the nation announced plans to shut down all of its nuclear power plants and started the construction of 2,800 miles of transmission lines for its new renewable energy initiative, but now the village of Wildpoldsried is producing 321% more energy than it needs! The small agricultural village in the state of Bavaria is generating an impressive $5.7 million in annual revenue from renewable energy.
It’s no surprise that the country that has kicked butt at the Solar Decathlon competition (to produce energy positive solar houses) year after year is the home to such a productive energy-efficient village. The village’s green initiative first started in 1997 when the village council decided that it should build new industries, keep initiatives local, bring in new revenue, and create no debt. Over the past 14 years, the community has equipped nine new community buildings with solar panels, built four biogas digesters (with a fifth in construction now) and installed seven windmills with two more on the way. In the village itself, 190 private households have solar panels while the district also benefits from three small hydro power plants, ecological flood control, and a natural waste water system.
All of these green systems means that despite only having a population of 2,600, Wildpoldsried produces 321 percent more energy than it needs – and it’s generating 4.0 million Euro (US $5.7 million) in annual revenue by selling it back to the national grid. It is no surprise to learn that small businesses have developed in the village specifically to provide services to the renewable energy installations.
If local unions and renewable energy advocates collaborate to implement similar systems the same thing can be achieved in Coos County. It is possible to do this despite the recalcitrance of the appointed economic development agencies, we can do this without them. Three years Peter DeFazio submitted a $2 million appropriations request designed by me called the Western Oregon Wind Project which would have initiated the first publicly owned micro-grid in Oregon and would have provided $1 million per year in additional revenue for local schools. Like many earmarks it was not funded but that model still exists.
