The energy of Schönau

This is a story of a non-expert group of citizens who founded a cooperative utility company. Today they supply 170,000 citizens with green electricity! 

In this post they discuss their own history and some of the recent challenges they are facing. 

Citizens of Schönau started organising after the nuclear power plant at Chernobyl exploded in 1986. Schönau is situated only 2,000 kilometres from the Ukrainian town and most parents were understandably concerned about the health impacts and future repercussions of further investments in nuclear energy. 

In 1992, four years before its operating license in Schönau expired, the  private electricity supplier offered the town 100,000 Deutschmark for the approval of a 20-year contract extension. At the time, the power market was strictly regulated: the electricity grid operator was also the provider for all connected households. Although the citizens offered the town the same amount of money to reject the application, the license was extended. The citizens were furious; they were being ignored. They demanded a local referendum and began an information campaign, going from door-to-door, talking to everyone. They won by a narrow margin so the license was not to be extended after all.

And they continued organising. This is when the  “Elektrizitätswerke Schönau”(EWS) was formed.

In 1996, EWS was granted the concession. Since 2009, it has grown into a cooperative with approximately 5,000 members. 

The vision of EWS is to combine all types of grids: power, gas and district heating. The cooperative mostly focuses on phasing out nuclear and coal.