Yes, thanks to wind, sun and green transition in the backyard

All over the country of Denmark, people are taking joint initiatives to establish solar panels, wind turbines and other green local projects. The Yes in my backyard project takes a closer look at what we can learn from these citizens. How do we capture the spirit and struggle of the locals for a greener society?

They take a joint initiative, stick to it and put it into practice. They have different motives. Some do it for the climate, others for the local community, the community or the economy. Across Denmark, there are today a large number of local energy initiatives, where citizens take the lead and single-handedly build larger solar cell systems and jointly owned wind turbines in their local area, initiate joint projects with a view to phasing out fossil heating, start up energy communities or on other way to initiate change in their local communities.

With the project 'Yes in my backyard', the Green Transition Denmark focuses on an aspect of the transition to renewable energy that we don't hear much about, but which can be of great value and inspire others to also get started. The locally originated and locally rooted.

What can we learn from these people? What are their successes, drive, hopes and concerns? What barriers do they encounter? What do they miss from the municipalities, the state and the companies? How can we grasp their ideas and wishes, and can it play together with everything that is going on these years at municipal and national level? And what advice do they have for others who want to get started.

At rgo.dk, we publish a number of articles in which we take a closer look at concrete locally rooted green energy projects. What have citizens around the country succeeded in doing in the past, and what are others struggling with right now?

In November 2023, we held one conference, where we delved into challenges and opportunities in the locally rooted energy initiatives. Here we invited citizens who are in the process or would like to start restructuring their local community. We also invited municipalities, regions, energy companies, researchers and politicians to take part in the debate – parties that are dependent on each other, but who are sometimes seen as each other's counterparts – so that we can debate challenges and solutions and jointly learn from the local projects.