Solarpunk Portland
EcoVillage Power Project

EcoVillage Power Project

The EcoVillage Power Project (EVPP) aims to put photovoltaic panels on the roofs of the buildings at Annapurna Ecovillage (neighboring Kailash Ecovillage already has them), put vertical-axis wind turbines on the roofs of all buildings at both ecovillages, and run the output of all of the above to a battery/control/distribution facility in a small shed on the SE corner of the Annapurna site, and thence to powering all the individual dwelling units at both EcoVillages, as well as the electric-vehicle charging stations at each of them.

This project is small by SPP standards, but we do have to start somewhere, and this project is achievable with resources readily to hand. Funding is available through the Portland Clean Energy Fund, which wants to benefit communities and companies comprised of or run by people from disadvantaged communities; Annapurna is a mostly Hispanic community, and if we can’t find a POC-run contracting company, we can start one and hire a POC to run it.

The EVPP interleaves with several other SPP programs. For example, the carpenters and electricians needed to do the actual work could be found and trained through the Implementation Internship program, and decision making and governance through a Positive Proxy system. Conversion of other existing apartment complexes into EcoVillages would be a great subject for a program that has not yet been formalized. Doing grid-independent power projects for them as well would be a very direct extension of this program.