Ecopower is a Belgian

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

founded in 1991, financing

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

projects in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

History

Since the liberalisation of the energy market in Flanders (July 2003) Ecopower became a supplier of green electricity produced in Belgium. At the end of 2010 1% of the Flemish households were supplied by Ecopower. It inspired other energy cooperatives across Europe.

Activities

The cooperative buys and builds renewable electricity units, such as

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

s and

water turbine A water turbine is a rotary machine that converts kinetic energy and potential energy of water into mechanical work. Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now, t ...

s, in Belgium. Projects in recent years include the placement of wind turbines in Eeklo,

Gistel Gistel () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. Following local government boundary reforms in 1971 and 1977, the municipality has comprised not only Gistel, but also the towns of Moere, Snaaskerke and Ze ...

and

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

, and the placement of hydroelectric turbines in

Rotselaar Rotselaar () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish-Brabant, near the convergence of the Demer and the Dijle. Since January 1, 1977 the municipality comprises the towns of Rotselaar proper, Werchter and Wezemaal. On January ...

, Hoegaarden and Overijse. In 2020, Ecopower and ECoOB (another cooperative) initiated a solar-energy project in

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

, by building solar installations on 10 public roofs and offering citizens the opportunity to become co-owners. The cooperative claims 50000 members in 2017. 40 % of Ecopower clients have installed solar panels on their buildings. Ecopower is member of the

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

group of renewable cooperatives REScoop.be and the European group of renewable cooperatives REScoop.eu.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecopower (Cooperative) Electric power companies of Belgium Energy cooperatives Cooperatives in Belgium Renewable electricity