{"id":7551,"date":"2013-01-08T11:37:11","date_gmt":"2013-01-08T16:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.energyrefuge.com\/blog\/?p=7551"},"modified":"2017-09-05T17:43:56","modified_gmt":"2017-09-05T21:43:56","slug":"berlin-more-electric-power-to-the-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.energyrefuge.com\/blog\/berlin-more-electric-power-to-the-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Berlin: More (Electric) Power to the People"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>German capital Berlin is one of Europe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s great cities and if B\u00c3\u00bcrgerEnergie Berlin (Citizens Energy Berlin) could have its way, it will be even greater.
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Greenbang writes that the government coalition that leads Berlin has decided to regain control of electricity production. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all good, but it gets better: besides making electricity production locally managed again, they want it to be 100 percent renewable, too.<\/p>\n

B\u00c3\u00bcrgerEnergie Berlin<\/a> is heading the initiative. The group wants to buy the city grid from Vattenfall and turn it into a citizen-controlled alternative energy<\/a> system. Talk about more power to the people! The group is currently applying for a license from the Berlin administration.<\/p>\n

B\u00c3\u00bcrgerEnergie Berlin says the local grid is worth \u00e2\u201a\u00ac400 million (US$523 million); Vattenfall, which bought it in 1997, says it is worth \u00e2\u201a\u00ac3 billion (US$3.93 bn). The concession expires in late 2014, when the Berlin Senate could shift operation control to the hands of another organization, so the group does have a chance.<\/p>\n

We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll keep an eye on this amazing initiative.
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Via Greenbang<\/a>
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Follow @energyrefuge<\/a>
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