Collective Wind Turbine in Catalonia

In rural Catalonia, people are coming together to reduce their carbon footprint. While most of us wait for renewable energies to come to us, others take matters into their own hands. Led by the vice-president of Eurosolar (the European Association for Renewable Energies), Josep Puig, Vivir del Aire del Cielo (which roughly translates as “to live off the air of the sky”) is a collective initiave to purchase a €2 million wind turbine that would offset all the energy consumed by the shareholders, consisting of individuals, families and NGO’s. Inaugurated nearly one year ago to coincide with the 25th anniversary of commercial wind energy in Spain, the project has raised a quarter of the money so far and is supported by organizations like Ecologistas en Acción, Greenpeace and the Worldwatch Institute. The investors will also collectively choose an appropriate location for the 1,679kW turbine–a windy town with less than 5000 residents close to an electric power station. Could this be the beginning of Spain’s first large-scale wind farm co-op?

via El Pais