Submission + - Renewable Microgrids show promise in real world (wired.com)
joemite writes: Wired Reports. Basalt Vista is designed to be an all-electric community that produces as much power as it uses. Each home comes outfitted with an electric vehicle charger in the garage, a large battery pack in the basement, and a roof covered with solar panels. The homes are linked together as a microgrid, a self-contained electricity distribution network that can operate independently of the regional electric grid. Their energy systems work together to balance the energy load across the neighborhood—the solar panels harvest energy, plugged in EVs can store electricity as needed, and large battery packs can supply power when the sun isn’t shining.
“Traditionally, we’ve delivered electric service over a one-way transmission and distribution grid from centralized power plants to relatively passive consumers,” says Bryan Hannegan, CEO of Holy Cross Energy, a small nonprofit utility that services Basalt, Aspen, and other nearby communities in Colorado. “That architecture is changing dramatically and consumers are now producing as well. Power plants are no longer large and centralized; they’re numerous and distributed.”
“Traditionally, we’ve delivered electric service over a one-way transmission and distribution grid from centralized power plants to relatively passive consumers,” says Bryan Hannegan, CEO of Holy Cross Energy, a small nonprofit utility that services Basalt, Aspen, and other nearby communities in Colorado. “That architecture is changing dramatically and consumers are now producing as well. Power plants are no longer large and centralized; they’re numerous and distributed.”
