Community Grids

Wind Turbine at AUTEC

Here is an idea to replace the aging electrical infrastructure that supplies our power needs at the flick of a switch that is simply called the grid. Parts of the grid are over a century old and well past their expiration date. It is still too expensive and unreliable for most folks to live off the grid but community grids that rely mostly on local energy sources and storage is an option receiving some serious consideration. Community grids would tap into renewable energy like roof top solar panels and micro wind turbines. These grids would only buy energy from the larger national grid when necessary and in return feed excess renewable energy into the national pot. This type of system is already working in some places like remote Alaskan villages where it is too costly to attach to the grid, and on some military bases, university campuses, and jails. Electric cars can also be enables to supply energy to the grid as well as take it and in this way help provide the grid with a backup supply and put money in their owner’s pockets. The US utility trade association isn’t so sure that these micro grids would be the best though because the rise of a distributed electricity generation could threaten industry profits. I get that. But change is definitely in the wind.