In the Dutch Climate agreement of 2019 an important sentence was added: 'We strive to 50% local ownership for large-scale energy-generation'. LochemEnergie and Rescoop.eu made a movie about the impact of this endeavour on LochemEnergie. Hopefully it inspires you, your cooperative and your country!
Our energy cooperative has 950 members. It started in 2010. And it grew into a big living lab for sustainable energy, with collective solar roofs, a car sharing platform and an energy saving program for households. We are supported by over 60 volunteers, 15 of which are energy coaches. The paragraph in the national Climate agreement to strive for 50% local ownership strengthens our position in the local community.
Local ownership is pivotal for local energy democracy. Citizen ownership of renewable energy production enhances the democratic nature of the energy transition. Rich and poor are equal. But this is new for everyone. This is why our local energy cooperatives work closely together to explore the possibilities of local ownership and spread our message to citizens, companies and the government.
For LochemEnergie, Local ownershop equals collective ownership. This means that ideally, we want to achieve 100% investment and control by and for citizens, farmers and local businesses. But 50% is the minimum, and a great start. And that naturally also applies to the revenues.