Art : accessible, renewable technology

This paper focuses on the role of non-governmental organization (NGO) citizen groups in Ontario in the use and production of electricity. NGOs have the potential to act both directly on their own accord, and indirectly by pressuring government and others. Current demand for electricity is divided between industrial, commercial and residential users. Citizens have an important role to play in reducing energy demand. On the supply side, there is a revival of interest in renewable energy based on wind, photovoltaic and local-hydro technologies as a result of the escalating environmental and economic costs of coal and nuclear generation. However, citizen groups have greater interest and enthusiasm than technical expertise, creating a mismatch between technological solutions and human need or use of them. This paper discusses how this mismatch applies to renewable-energy technologies, many of which are not especially user-friendly, or accessible. While alternative technologies are increasingly welcomed by government, industry is developing a large and growing array of technological devices. In between this is the citizen, who, despite keen interest, can be overwhelmed by the complexity of the situation. This paper links the theoretical perspective to the real world with a discussion of the dynamics between people and renewable energy in citizen groups and makes particular reference to one group, Citizens for Renewable Energy, that has been making renewable energy technology more accessible to its members for over a decade