Often in the countryside, but also near cities, we come across electric power lines with huge pylons, real eye-sores on the landscape.

In 2016, for a few hours, all of Germany ran only on renewable energy , demonstrating that one day, the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere could really be avoided.

Households and small businesses using independent power systems, or microgrids, still find it hard to cope without their national electricity grids.

Over 640 million Africans have no access to energy, which means over 60 percent of population. At the same time, the continent has abundant renewable energy sources that could fuel its energy revolution.

The next few weeks are going to be crucial for the future of renewable energy in Europe.

One of the main contributors of CO 2 emissions are the homes we live in. In the EU, buildings are responsible for 36% of CO 2 emissions and 40% of energy consumption.

Thousands of kilometres of increasingly sophisticated and cutting-edge transmission lines, in other words supergrids , are on the EU agenda. Projects for high voltage links between countries are already being implemented.

Over the last few decades the energy landscape has been changing drastically in Europe. An increasing amount of electricity is now generated from renewable sources, such as solar and wind energy.

Despite increasing talk about renewable energy, many people remain far removed from what’s going on. To tackle this, various projects have been developed over the years helping users to better understand and use green energy sources.

The  Paris climate change pact , which  entered into force  last year, was announced with a huge fanfare. The deal aims to limit the rise in average global temperatures to “well below” two degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

February’s blackout in Brussels left neighbourhoods in darkness, streets lit only by headlights and torches. You may be left thinking it was the symptom of a sick system.

“We’re watching the election very closely. That’s for sure,” said Alex Raguet, CEO and founder of Lumo , a French crowdfunding platform for renewable energies.

The pioneering city of Stuttgart, Germany, was one the first to apply an innovative financing scheme back in 1995 and since then it has been bearing its fruit: energy-efficiency funding has reduced the city’s CO 2 emissions by tens of thousands of tonnes.

Where’s the best place to set up a factory in Europe? Athens , of course! As unexpected as it may seem, the Greek capital ranks first in a special list of 40 regions across the EU , for conditions ideal for the integration of renewable energy, notably solar, in manufacturing activities .

Renewable energy crowdfunding involves three different parties: the fundraising platform, the investors  who generally expect a return, and project developers needing money. They may come from different nations .

Fittingly, for an author who argues that connectivity is the key driver of growth in the modern age, Parag Khanna seems to have ties all over the world, and roots in many of the largest urban centres. ...

Across Europe, town and city councils are becoming increasingly interested in energy decentralisation , i.e. in producing power closer to where it is consumed.

The energy landscape in Europe is changing rapidly and the percentage of renewables is steadily increasing. For example, in Germany solar and wind power provided an average of 33% of the total electricity production in 2015.

There are three ways a crowdfunding project can be financed. Lending: the entrepreneurs borrow money and pay interest; equity: investors in the project become its shareholders; donations: no reward is to be expected (there is a fourth way, a mix of equity and lending called “hybrid”).

United Kingdom - London Array With a peak rated power of 630 megawatts, London Array is the largest wind farm in Europe by capacity, and also the largest offshore plant in the world.