In such downtrodden times, we find ourselves at a confluence of daily headlines on energy and economy. But for now, this information just seems to flow by and barely touch. I have been wondering how we can merge them into a meaningful and proven way to create a positive change to uplift and rally our communities. And now, I have found the right precedent to consider.

Just as every town needs its fire station and library, we also need a new and relevant type of community land use - an Energy Academy and Park. I first saw the manifestation of this idea on Samso Island, Denmark (set in the Kattegat Strait) about two years ago. I was struck by its simplicity and also the unique story behind it. In 1997, Soren Hermansen, now Director of the Energy Academy realized that the summer tourist destination where he and his family lived full time was dead most of the frozen year. The local economy didn’t amount to much and the farmlands and powerful winds that wrapped the island had more potential if they somehow could be harnessed in a symbiotic way. His definition of sustainability for Samso’s future was not merely about energy efficiency, but also self sufficiency. So after reading about a contest sponsored by the Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy, he mobilized his neighbors to enter.

Over the next ten years, Samso Island residents banded together on evenings and weekends, brought baked cookies and pies to community meetings, watched instructional films, invited sustainability experts, filled out forms, invested their own money, studied prototypes, applied for government grants, had ground breakings and supported each other through many very cold nights, all the while learning about renewable energy, especially wind, solar and biofuel – of which they had plenty. You’ll have to do your own research to learn all the intricacies of how it happened, but the conclusion to the story is that Samso Island now receives international recognition for leading the world in sustainable alternative energy, producing 10% more than its 6,000 residents use each year and became carbon neutral in 2007. They export wind power to Norway and have created a variety of new jobs for themselves. Some residents even travel the world to help erect wind turbines and large solar installations based on what they have learned. Basically, they went from nothing to everything.

The Samso Island Energy Academy is the pinnacle of their efforts. The roughly 640 square meter building designed by Copenhagen’s Arkitema Architects, functions as the Island’s symbolic hub. It’s Samso’s unofficial international visitor center, meeting hall and a research office for six dedicated staff. Learn more about it at http://www.energiakademiet.dk/front_uk.asp?id=35

But the most interesting thing that Mr. Hermansen said came at the end our day together. As the sun began to set on a frosty day in February, he told us that of the many countries that have sent research teams from around the world to visit and learn from Samso’s sustainable success story – that my colleague and I were the only Americans to have actually visited (except for one reporter from the New Yorker a few months earlier). I felt a bit embarrassed. Luckily though, others have discovered what’s happening and Soren is getting the recognition he deserves by being named a TIME Magazine 2008 Hero of the Environment.

Here’s my point. What Soren did seems simple. We should use Samso as a case study of what we can do right here for ourselves – but only in reverse. We can start by building hundreds of Energy Academies throughout our country as a catalyst to meet and educate ourselves about sustainable lifestyles. Americans are receptive to making a positive change for themselves and their environment. The Academies can serve as job centers for training and placement, where relevant information and civic opportunities can be shared. Like Samso, our communities need to find and hire experts like Mr. Hermansen, of which there are plenty in the United States.

Organizers with heart, passion and desire to interpret each community’s unique surroundings, draw out its essence and motivate others to get involved. And we need inspiring simple structures like the Samso’s Energy Academy to symbolize a respite, foster the inspiration, demonstrate possibilities and provide a visual icon that reminds us that change is worth having. Adding a complimentary Energy Park is my idea. The prototype is planned for a similar project in La Plata, Missouri. All told, it takes about an acre and a half and surrounds the Energy Academy. When finished, I’ll leave it up to the community to build consensus about what should be put in it.

For more on how Online Land Planning can provide sustainable solutions for you visit our sites at www.OnlineLandPlanning.com or www.OnlineUrbanPlanning.com.

Written by:

Rick Abelson
Director
Online Land Planning

www.OnlineLandPlanning.com