Making the power grid more sustainable, secure and cost-effective
THE POWER OF MICROGRIDS
Sierra Club Magazine, July/August, 2013
ONE OBSTACLE TO USING CLEANER, more local, renewable power is the power grid itself. Our antiquated system of regional grids is, for the most part, hardwired to route electricity from big power plants. In fact, utilities have warned that the grid could go haywire if local "decentralized" power exceeds 15 percent of supply.
Microgrids offer an intriguing path to semi-independence. A microgrid empowers a geographic area to use its own electricity when it's available and to rely on the existing utility grid when it's not. If the big grid flickers, the microgrid can hum along in "island mode" and keep critical functions running. As we enter an era of superstorms, that could mean fewer blackouts. And if those local energy sources are renewable, it means a smaller carbon footprint.
A solar-powered microgrid operates on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, and some factories create mini-power plants from their own steam. Other institutions, including the University of California at San Diego and about 40 U.S. military bases, are building their own grids. Here's how a community microgrid might work one day in your neighborhood.
(More here.)
Sierra Club Magazine, July/August, 2013
ONE OBSTACLE TO USING CLEANER, more local, renewable power is the power grid itself. Our antiquated system of regional grids is, for the most part, hardwired to route electricity from big power plants. In fact, utilities have warned that the grid could go haywire if local "decentralized" power exceeds 15 percent of supply.
Microgrids offer an intriguing path to semi-independence. A microgrid empowers a geographic area to use its own electricity when it's available and to rely on the existing utility grid when it's not. If the big grid flickers, the microgrid can hum along in "island mode" and keep critical functions running. As we enter an era of superstorms, that could mean fewer blackouts. And if those local energy sources are renewable, it means a smaller carbon footprint.
A solar-powered microgrid operates on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, and some factories create mini-power plants from their own steam. Other institutions, including the University of California at San Diego and about 40 U.S. military bases, are building their own grids. Here's how a community microgrid might work one day in your neighborhood.
(More here.)
Powered by Blogger
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home