Solarpunk Atlas

We can builda betterfuture

A curated atlas of real-world projects and developments
that point the way toward a Solarpunk world.

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Atlas · 24 entries

Already, somewhere, it's being built

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Energy · Copenhagen

Copenhagen District Heating (HOFOR)

Copenhagen's district heating system dates to 1925, when surplus heat from the Gothersgade power plant was piped to nearby buildings; operator HOFOR now runs one of the world's largest district heating networks of roughly 3,000 km of pipes. The system covers about 98% of the city's heating demand — approximately 560,000 inhabitants — supplied mainly by combined heat-and-power plants and waste incineration, and is part of a Greater Copenhagen network meeting about one fifth of Denmark's total heat demand. A century after launch, around 85% of its heat is CO2-neutral, with a goal of 100% in the early 2030s, supporting Copenhagen's ambition to become the world's first carbon-neutral capital.

Energy · Schönau im Schwarzwald

EWS Elektrizitätswerke Schönau eG

Founded as a citizens' initiative in Schönau im Schwarzwald after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, EWS won two local referendums and bought the town's electricity grid on 1 July 1997, financed by some 750 private donors through the national "Ich bin ein Störfall" crowdfunding campaign. Since 2009 it operates as a registered cooperative (eG) with more than 8,000 member households, supplying over 200,000 energy customers across Germany with green power from PV, wind, hydropower, biogas and combined heat-and-power, while running the local electricity and gas networks. Its electricity is annually certified by TÜV Nord as free of any capital from nuclear-utility owners.

Energy · Samsø

Samsø Renewable Energy Island

In 1997 the Danish island of Samsø (about 4,000 inhabitants, 114 km2) won a national competition to become Denmark's "Renewable Energy Island", with the goal of a fully renewable energy system within ten years. By 2007 the island reached a net annual renewable-energy balance above 100%, using 11 onshore and 10 offshore wind turbines, biomass-fuelled district heating and solar panels, with roughly 100% local citizen ownership of the energy investments. Samsø is now effectively carbon-negative, won a UN Global Climate Action Award at COP26, and its "Samsø 3.0" plan targets a fully fossil-free island by 2030.

Energy · Girona

Som Energia

Founded on 11 December 2010 in Girona by people linked to the University of Girona, Som Energia was Spain's first renewable-energy cooperative, launched with around 340 founding members. As of mid-2025 it reports more than 86,000 member-owners, over 119,000 active electricity supply contracts and about 71 GWh of annual renewable generation, financed collectively by members (e.g. the Generación kWh investment model) and sold at cost as 100% certified renewable electricity across Spain including the islands. Members are co-owners who vote in assemblies; generation includes solar, biomass, biogas and wind, plus recent shared urban generation (GURB) and virtual-battery schemes.

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It doesn't have to be like this.

Solarpunk Atlas is a hobby project about a possible future — and the projects, policies, and experiments that are quietly building it right now. The Atlas is a curated, sourced directory of real things: car-free districts, citizen energy cooperatives, restored rivers, repair movements. The blog is where the interpretation happens — the opinions, the analysis, the arguments.

I make sure to back up claims with sources, but this is not a scientific journal. I have biases and opinions and can't rule out their impact on the writing entirely.

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