Crowdfunding Clean Energy

An economic shift to renewable energy could take decades, but thanks to rapidly evolving disruptive technologies, dropping prices of solar and wind power sources, and increasing market demand for green business, the new age of renewable energy could encompass the world economy much more quickly.

Samsø, a small island in Denmark, has done what no other city has reached; energy independence. People on the island use a combination of wind, solar, and biomass, energy. How is such a large feat accomplished? Local leaders say it wasn’t because of technological breakthrough, but through collective action.

A local energy cooperative in Colorado, Delta Montrose Electric Association, is spurring economic development through renewable energy. The program has allowed Delta County to diversify energy sources, and has become a tool for economic revitalization.

Since its commercial launch in 2012, M-Kopa has grown to exceed expectations for its revenue--now making more than $12 million a year. The company does this all while expanding access to affordable technology to the poorest rural population in Kenya, as well as providing them with credit and promoting green practices.

The government wants more farmers turning waste methane into biogas to help combat the negative effects of global climate change. California is leading the initiative, largely through a cap-and-trade program.

San Francisco-based New Resource Bank was launched with environmental sustainability lending as its niche. But it pursued easier profits for a time, risking its survival and mission until a new CEO turned its fortunes around with a laser focus on the original mission, bolstered by learning its borrowers' businesses intimately. The bank doubled in size and merged with a larger bank, making itself a model for mission-driven lending in such businesses as solar, wind energy, and organic foods – and by attracting institutional depositors and investors as interested in social change as they are in profits.

Enrolling administrators and financial planners in sustainable projects takes proving that investments pay for themselves. With the help of pressure from students and faculty, Penn State Universities administrators have adopted a long-term strategy to reduce the university’s carbon footprint and implement sustainable practices. Students produced the data that illuminated the university’s unsustainable practices; the numbers now show that their efforts are paying off.

One of the greatest challenges to integrating renewable energy sources into the power grid has been the issue of storage - where and how to keep power generated during off-hours (such as overnight) when demand is low. While batteries are on the rise as one solution, an Alabama power plant has discovered a natural way of storing energy until it is needed: pumping air into salt caverns.

Denmark occupies a seat in the vanguard of efforts to fulfill carbon emission reduction goals of the Paris Agreement, with DONG Energy -- co-owned by the Danish government, Goldman Sachs and shareholders -- building massive arrays of offshore wind turbines. While expansion across the EU remains a challenge because of a still-underdeveloped grid capacity, DONG's efforts show how Denmark's use of free-market demand and public-private collaboration provides an affordable, environmentally- sustainable option.

Solar power is an important renewable energy in Germany, but when the sun is out, it can overpower the grid. Likewise, when the sun is not out, the reception of solar power decreases. Germany has piloted battery installations that store solar energy for use when the sunlight is not plentiful and has successfully incentivized citizens to use them to lower costs.