Power to the People

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Green Alliance wants the government to make it easier for individuals to use these technologies. "For this to happen," says policy officer Tracy Carty, "the government needs to commit to planning, building and energy policies that can support microgeneration." Critics, including many in the nuclear industry, fault microgeneration as inefficient, uneconomical and overly romantic — too small-scale to power industry or to make much of a dent in greenhouse gas emissions. Many want a fresh look at the nuclear option, arguing that it is one of the cleanest ways to produce power. Microgeneration fans disagree. Jeremy Leggett, ceo of Solarcentury, Britain's leading solar photovoltaics company, thinks nuclear power is risky and that a combination of dwindling oil reserves and global warming will eventually propel microgeneration technologies into the mainstream.

Widespread use may be years off, but microgeneration is starting to catch on. In Goudouras, a small seaside village in southeastern Crete, Greenpeace helped set up Greece's first grid-connected solar power unit, at the local elementary school. The solar system mollified residents who opposed plans for a potentially environmentally harmful oil-powered plant in nearby Atherinolakkos.

In Spain, the agricultural town of Cuéllar, in the central province of Segovia, generates hot water and heating for 250 homes by burning pine bark and other wood residuals. The system, using no fossil fuel and similar to BedZED's wood-burning plant, also heats an indoor swimming pool, a cultural center and a school. Spain now produces 7% of the world's solar photovoltaic energy, and solar sources are "growing at a 50% clip per year," says Javier García Breva, director of the Institute for Energy Diversification and Savings, the government body responsible for promoting and subsidizing renewable energies. Local authorities are even reviving some of the tiny, forgotten hydroelectric plants that dot the Spanish countryside.

In Portugal, the BioRegional Development Group — the independent British environmental organization that started up BedZED — and the global conservation organization wwf are working with a developer to create a "one-planet living" ecotourism project south of Lisbon. Using 100% renewable energy and creating a transport network designed to virtually eliminate private cars, the Mata de Sesimbra development will combine a 4,800-hectare cork-forest restoration project with a 500-hectare tourism development. Based on their experiences with BedZED, BioRegional and wwf will be incorporating similar innovative ecological elements into the Portuguese project. They don't plan to stop at Europe's borders, however. Next stop: energy-hungry China.