Our friends at NC WARN on the passing of a truly great man. Click here for their comments.

The first community owned renewable energy project in North Carolina sits atop the office in which AIRE is located, a building fondly known as the GreenHouse. The 2.4 kW solar electric system is owned by a block of small businesses in downtown Boone, and was installed by a class of graduate students of the Appropriate Technology department at Appalachian State University in May 2008. The system has been producing green electrons for the past year and a half, with the electricity flowing directly into the GreenHouse.

While having this small solar electric system supply some of electricity needs in our office is an efficient use of clean energy… there are significant incentives that we are missing out on by not being tied to the grid. We’re losing out on an attractive power purchase agreement with NC GreenPower, a utility program that pays a premium price for renewable energy, and on the sale of our Renewable Energy Credits, a market commodity for renewable energy generation. We originally intended to connect to the grid when we installed, however, New River Light and Power, our local utility provider, was unable to accommodate us at the time, due to a lack of capacity on their end.

As of last week, when members of AIRE met with the new General Manager of New River Light & Power, Mr. Ed Miller, the process of getting an interconnect for our demonstration project has officially begun! Mr. Miller gave us a hefty binder to fill out so that we may proceed with this necessary endeavor. Completing this will set an important precedent for the Boone community… we will be the first group in the area to have a solar photovoltaic system tied to the grid! We are excited to advance this process, share our experience with others, and replicate what we’ve done on a much greater scale!

It’s no small task to build a great idea into a greater reality. It’s also no minor feat to write down on paper how you plan on doing it. This is how we are spending much of our days lately… drafting our strategic plan for community owned renewable energy. Our plan will serve not only to clarify our vision; it also is a ticket to a potentially transformational grant that would allow us to launch our operations on a grand scale. For the past 18 months AIRE has been in discussion with the Kendeda Fund, a private foundation that has a history of granting money to sustainability focused community development projects.

Kendeda has granted us part of our requested sum to write this strategic plan, and also a business plan (for our for-profit venture company), to demonstrate that we know how to implement our model of collaborative investment in community owned renewable energy. As we conceptualize and write our step-by-step plans to build the capacity of communities to cost-effectivly invest in renewable energy, we are confronted with large questions and exciting prospects. Our financial model, while still not airtight, is getting closer every day to being ready for mass implementation.

Part of writing our plan involves gauging what types of people we will need to hire in order to actualize this endeavor, writing job descriptions and roles for what we hope will be a smashing success in democratizing the political economy of energy. At the same time that we’re writing our plans for future expansion, we’re juggling potential demonstration projects that will verify our model’s feasibility. Each day we have minor breakthroughs and sometimes minor setbacks, but overall we are rapidly approaching a potentially transformational transition in the development of our organization.

As the newly minted Education and Outreach director of the Appalachian Institute for Renewable Energy, my first week on the job was an edifying and exciting experience. Since I’ve been engaged in the process of creating this position for the past 8 months, there is a sense of accomplishment just to finally be here. In short, my position is being funded by federal stimulus money from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, channeled through a fellowship program with Appalachian State University. With any luck and a lot of hard work, the fellowship will cover costs of this position until AIRE is fully funded and moving forward with our financial model for community owned renewable energy. As the various pieces of our business plan come together, there is much excitement and anticipation about the potential for growth in the coming months.

My first few days on the job were a mix of conceptually processing the current status of our development as an organization… and actively participating in it. Day 1 primarily consisted of taking notes and asking a great deal of questions, with one noteworthy exception. Jim Rogers, the CEO of Duke Energy, was in town visiting Appalachian State University to give a speech about his role as the chief executive of a large utility company. Naturally, AIRE had to be there. Mr. Rogers spoke about the balance of priorities needed to effectively fulfill the requirements of his job,  which he described as “reliably, affordably and sustainably” providing electricity to 11 million customers . Unsurprisingly, he spent a considerable amount of time justifying Duke’s ongoing use of coal-fired and nuclear power plants.

After speaking for about 45 minutes, Mr. Rogers opened up for only two questions… before presumably being chauffeured back to his private jet. Seeing my opportunity to cut through the misleading aura he had conjured up about coal and nuclear, I rose to my feet and pressed the utility executive on the subsidies given by the federal government, which enable coal and nuclear power to be artificially inexpensive. I then questioned the role of our elected officials and industry leaders in restructuring the government incentives needed to level the playing field for renewable energy. It appeared as if the CEO was not expecting this type of question. After fumbling for a few moments Jim Rogers answered with what I assume to be a false statement; that renewable energy sources already receive more subsidies than any other form of energy.

I look forward to following up with Mr. Rogers at a later date and providing him with a more precise portrayal of the current subsidies in place for coal and nuclear power. I also plan on encouraging him to strengthen his commitment to clean energy. As AIRE develops the capacity for community-owned renewable energy, we will inevitably be interfacing with Duke Power, and its various counterparts, on a regular basis. Unsurprisingly, at times Duke won’t like what we have to say… If our vision for community-owned renewable energy grows into its true potential, the concentrated wealth and influence of large utility corporations like Duke will begin to diminish… thus democratizing the monopoly enjoyed by the power industry.