In this new episode of City Stories’ SCCALE 20-30-50 series, we bring you to the Kökar, one of the small municipalities of Aland island (Finland). We talked with Niclas Karlsson, Municipal Director and Jonas Holmstrom, Engagement Officer at the energy company Flexens. They shared their recent experience of local opposition to a community energy project, and what they have learnt from it.
In the municipality of Kökar an energy community around solar, urban wind and storage was meant to bring new flexibility to the island’s energy system. Unfortunately, some very few but vocal opponents made it impossible for the project to happen, causing the Municipality to abandon their plans. Luckily, this won’t be the last experience of Kökar in community energy…They have gained valuable knowledge that will be very useful when the next opportunity arises.
In this podcast you will learn about:
- What developers and local governments can do when they have a renewable energy project but are running into public resistance
- How to make people understand that there is more to gain than to lose
Picture by Kristaps Ungurs (Unsplash+)