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Agamemnon Otero

Repowering community

Meaning 2019

A turbulent world is calling for new ways of thinking about energy, about cities, and about the ways we work and live together. At Meaning 2019 we met Agamemnon Otero – the driving force behind numerous projects that put renewable energy and urban improvement into the hands of the people most affected by fuel poverty and social inequality.

Agamemnon ignores the usual rules of business and instead creates co-operative organisations that value everyone’s voice, everyone’s contribution and everyone’s need to learn and grow.

In often-overlooked and neglected urban neighbourhoods, community owned co-ops are bringing transformation. ‘Repowering’ brings solar power to the roofs of homes and community buildings – but does so by handing the tools of meaningful change to the people themselves. ‘Energy Garden’ brings collaborative landscaping and sustainability to railway stations. With democratic structures, shared ownership and opportunities to build skills, these projects are forging benefits and relationships that conventional business couldn’t begin to create.  

In 2016 Agamemnon was awarded an MBE for services to community energy and in 2017 was named one of the 50 Most Impactful Green Leaders globally by CSR Congress.

At Meaning, he showed us how the best kind of change happens not when it is imposed upon us by powerful corporations or tech entrepreneurs – but when we all feel we have a stake in the innovations and projects that truly improve our communities and our cities.

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