Check out the San Francisco Energy Cooperative.
It’s a democratic-but-not-governmental-or-nonprofit energy-development business based on the cooperative model prevalent in parts of Europe. On Tuesday, I met founder Evan Wynns, who beautifully described the unique niche this cooperatively owned business is filling, allowing any of us to invest in installing solar panels, wind turbines or other clean power-generation systems that will sell power to the grid. Shareholders take a share of the profit (or loss)—and they decide what power systems will be built and where. “Starting this up was more a feat of social engineering than anything else,” Evan says.
It’s a great system that catalyzes development of renewable power with a business model that allows all of us to invest. I might buy at least one share and a membership just to keep up with this interesting startup.
