Say yes to YIMBY

We’ve heard a lot about NIMBY (not-in-my-back-yard) when it comes to renewable energy development. For some people, the idea of using so-called green power is fabulous – as long as it’s tucked away and out of sight. But increasingly, there’s a lot more YIMBY going on as people say YES to backyard power—small, single family projects as opposed to large, city-powering generation systems.

While the move from NIMBY to YIMBY can be driven by direct benefit from living off the grid (as Royal Roads University in Victoria is attempting), it can also come from a simple love of eco-friendly power within sight of your kitchen window. In 2005, David Suzuki affirmed his belief in the beauty of wind power with an articulate defense of that oft-NIMBY’d energy source.

Whatever your motivation for saying YIMBY to backyard energy, there are more and more opportunities for making wind, solar or even ethanol energy part of your home. Do-it-yourselfers have already drawn up the plans (as featured in Canadian Home Workshop).

So, it seems the only question left is: are you ready to say YIMBY?