As part of the project “The Climate Network: Revitalizing Transatlantic Relations for a Green Economy”, the Heinrich Böll Foundation will send two experts from European energy cooperatives on a speaking tour across New England and Ontario, Canada, on April 22 – 30, 2013. Our experts, Dr. Andreas Wieg from the German Cooperative and Raiffeisen Confederation, and Dirk Vansintjan from Ecopower, a renewable energy cooperative in Flanders, Belgium, will travel to New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont and Ottawa, to meet with lawmakers, regulators, business representatives, academics, entrepreneurs, and community organizers to discuss the economic benefits of the transition to renewable energy production in Germany, Belgium and Europe. The tour will include the following public events:
- Tuesday, April 23: Public forum at the SIT Graduate Institute in Brattleboro, VT
- Wednesday, April 24: Public event at Greenfield Community College in Greenfield, MA
- Wednesday, April 24: Public event at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH
- Saturday, April 27: Public forum at the University of Vermont in Burlington, VT
- Monday, April 29: “Solar Soirée” hosted by Ottawa Renewable Energy Cooperative
The slide shows presented by Andreas Wieg during the tour can be downloaded here:
You can contact Andreas by email: Wieg[at]dgrv.de
The slide shows presented by Dirk Vansintjan during the tour can be downloaded here:
You can contact Dirk by email: dirk.vansintjan[at]ecopower.be
Our speakers referenced the following publications during their presentations:
- The Heinrich Böll Foundation’s comprehensive website on the German Energiewende (energy transition)
- Website of the German Cooperative and Raiffeisen Federation (DGRV)
- Energy cooperatives in Germany, published by DGRV
- Background information about the energy transition in Germany from the German Renewable Energies Agency
- “Towards 100% renewable energy in Belgium by 2050”, a study commissioned by the Belgian governments
- Video about Ecopower, the Belgian energy cooperative
- YouTube channel of the REScoop 20-20-20 initiative
For additional information about the tour please contact Roric McCorristin.