The Changing Grid

The way we get our energy is changing. In the past, electricity in the US has been delivered to homes and businesses via a centralized grid of power plants and high-tension wires. After the New York blackout of 2003 and California’s rolling blackouts, those needing reliable energy are faced with a choice waiting for an upgrade to the existing backbone or finding means to distribute and generate energy on a local level.

Distributed generation allows users to achieve energy independence:

• Energy generated very near where it is used
• Increased efficiency, no energy lost in transmission
• Improved delivery, onsite storage decreases peak loading
• No or low-pollution energy from sunlight, wind and natural gas

Many technological advances are lowering the cost-barriers of distributed generation. This clean, efficient and reliable solution is now viable for even homeowners and smaller businesses.

These modern embedded systems feature automatic operation and low maintenance:

• Solar photovoltaic systems
• Wind power systems   
• Micro combined heat and power (MicroCHP)
• Fuel cells
• Microturbines
• Reciprocating engines
• Stirling engines

As the grid changes, these exciting new technologies offer an opportunity to directly control your energy future.