Alternative Energy

Field definition

Collaboration and Commons-based Production in the Alternative Energy Sector The alternative energy sector is defined by technology that produces energy while causing less environmental damage than traditional means of energy production.

The main actors in this sector are government agencies, universities, and energy companies. Venture capitalists, nonprofit organizations, environmental advocates, and attorneys all play important supporting roles.

Conferences and State Task Forces provide important collaboration opportunities. Identification of challenges and opportunities for projects may be established at these meetings and collaboration continues through email contact and conference calls.

Government agencies and universities appear to be more eager to participate in data sharing than energy companies who are less consistent in sharing their data. While there may be differences between the main actors when it comes to data and research sharing, collaboration on policy appears to be strong from all the actors in this sector.

An example of industry collaboration can be seen in the “Iowa Alliance for Wind Innovation and Novel Development” which is a partnership between “state and local governments, the community colleges, universities, the private sector, associations and community organizations, and the federal government.”

The information above is largely the result of impressions of the alternative energy sector collected through research and experience.

The Cooperation Project will need to base its practices on much more firm footing so it probably makes sense to establish introductory questions. These research questions should include:

1. How can the amount and type of industry collaboration be measured? 2. How do public and private incentives affect industry collaboration? 3. Does educational and government funding encourage industry collaboration? 4. What are the social and psychological motivations for industry collaboration? 5. What are the threats to peer production from the industrial information economy? 6. What are the bottlenecks to better peer communication and sharing?

Given the success of commons-based production, it is exciting to consider the study of the alternative energy sector in this context.

Cases of Study

POSSIBLE CASES TO DISCUSS:

MAKE: Alternative Energy Gift Guide
- http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/11/alternative_energy_gift_g.html
- The projects are designed to focus on learning concepts involved in solar, wind, biodiesel, and nuclear energy creation while also creating something practical. For example: MAKE Magazine- Volume 14 contains a "Solar Power System Desig" that explains how to use solar panels to supplement your home electricity needs. Another example is in MAKE Magazine - Volume which contains "Wind Powered Generator" instructions on how to build an inexpensive windmill generator.

Pure Energy Systems Wiki: Finding and facilitating breakthrough clean energy technologies.
- http://peswiki.com/energy/OS
- This is a wiki devoted to sharing energy technology using open source licensing. The site provides a place for posting project information and discussing results. Over all, it looks like an idea that never took off but the lack of success should teach us something too.

GovTrack.US: Alternative energy sources bills
- http://www.govtrack.us/congress/subjects.xpd?type=crs&term=Alternative+energy+sources
- http://www.govtrack.us/getinvolved.xpd
- This site is provides access to "trackers" that allow subject based monitoring of legislative topic areas such as alternative energy. A blog and question and answer site allow citizen feedback and the tech is open source and run by volunteers.

Alternative Energy Network by Open Source Energy Network (OSEN)
- http://www.osen.org/
- This site provides a forum for sharing alternative energy technologies (it wanders outside our scope) under open source licensing. In addition to discussion, the site provides document upload and search abilities. The site has very few participants and low growth but the model may be instructive.

Google Energy Information
- http://www.google.org/powermeter/
  - http://groups.google.com/group/energyinformation/browse_thread/thread/b58a34221e048603
  - http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/googles-energy-ideas-might-emerge-under-open-source-licenses-or-not/
- Google's charitable arm, Google.org, has created 'Google PowerMeter" which provides real-time feedback on energy consumption. The purpose of this project is to promote smarter power consumption. It is not yet clear whether the code will be released under an open source license (as is hinted at in the nytimes article) or if their will be community elements to the project.

Eco-Patent Commons
- http://www.wbcsd.org/templates/TemplateWBCSD5/layout.asp?type=p&MenuId=MTQ3NQ&doOpen=1&ClickMenu=LeftMenu
- Environmentally related patents pledged by members of the commons are made available to members as well as non-members. Currently there are 85 patents and the focus does not appear to be on alternative energy. Despite the lack of focus on our topic I included this because the project may grow into the topic area given some of the large companies contributing.

Science Commons: GreenXchange
- http://sciencecommons.org/projects/greenxchange
- This is a call to create a community to "bring the network efficiencies of open innovation to solving the problems of sustainability" This is not yet a focused effort so it might be worth watching to see if an alternative energy focus develops.