In southern New Mexico—part of the vast Chihuahuan Desert—the predominant color in the landscape is brown. But inside the greenhouses at Masson Farms, in a village called Radium Springs, it’s all about color: pinks and reds and purples and oranges and yellows. The potted plants the company grows thrive there all year round, in large part because of an abundance of geothermal hot water that keeps the temperature carefully controlled.

As energy becomes more decentralized—as close to home as solar panels on the roof—the opportunity is there for it to become more democratic too. What does energy democracy look like? It’s often tied to renewables, but it’s about a lot more than that.