Dear Editor,
How much will climate action cost?
In Feldheim, Germany, all energy is renewable. Feldheim has 47 wind turbines on the village’s cooperatively-owned fields, which are surrounded by crops and livestock. Farmers earn from their crops, livestock, and energy sales.
Feldheim built a biogas plant that uses crop residue and animal manure to generate methane for district heating. Their bio-energy plant runs on wood waste from the community forest, and the community sells its surplus electricity.
A 10 MW battery ensures sales when prices are highest. Villagers installed their own grid and added a district heating system, which means villagers on district energy don’t need a furnace and they pay half the national price for electricity.
Their energy investments yield 6% per annum.
Feldheim is a small, conservative, farming community that recognized the benefits of renewable energy. Will B.C. take control of its renewable energy resources and reap the economic and environmental benefits of climate action?
Robert Macrae