Solar-and-blockchain-driven energy microgrids bring sustainability - and cheaper prices - to Brooklyn residents
The idea that communities and neighbourhoods could have much more self-determining powers over their assets and resources is one that constantly attracts us. And cutting-edge combinations of software and solar technology make that vision ever more possible.
To the left is a video tweet from the World Economics Foundation, reporting on a solar-power-meets-blockchain energy microgrid, operating in the Brooklyn area, greater New York.
The project, in the Park Slope area (this is quite a precinct - you may remember our blog on the Park Slope Food Coop a few weeks ago), has been going since 2016. Brooklyn Microgrid essentially tries to use the ledger and recording power of blockchain to track the output of their solar panels. and eventually swap energy among participants - literally the neighbours across the street.
The company involved, LO3 Energy, have just won the right to make their area a regulatory sandbox (an RS “allows live, time-bound testing of innovations under a regulator’s oversight” (UN)). This means, for Park Slope and surrounding areas (Borough Park and Bay Ridge), that the Brooklyn Microgrid will be licensed as a commercial operator (just like the area main energy provider, Con Edison). This will allow peer-to-peer, blockchain-enabled microtransactions of extra solar energy between 200 residents who will operate within the Microgrid, for the next 12 months.
As the Brooklyn Eagle reports, the area has recently experienced blackout problems: the microgrid could easily step in during such emergencies. Also, ‘'according to a 2017 New York Times article, less than a quarter of the electricity produced in New York State, across all providers, including Con Edison, comes from renewable sources”.
Microgrids have been excellently explained by Paul Hawken’s Project Drawdown:
The “macro” grid is a massive electrical network of energy sources. It connects utilities, large fossil-fuel plants, small fossil-fuel plants used to meet peaks in demand, and 24-7 control centers monitoring supply. This centralized setup hinders society’s transition from dirty energy produced in a few places to clean energy produced everywhere.
Enter microgrids. A microgrid is a localized grouping of distributed energy sources, like solar, wind, in-stream hydro, and biomass, together with energy storage or backup generation and load management tools. This system can operate as a stand-alone entity or its users can plug into the larger grid as needed.
Microgrids are nimble, efficient microcosms of the big grid, designed for smaller, diverse energy sources. The use of local supply to serve local demand makes them more resilient and reduces energy lost in transmission and distribution.
Microgrids also aid human and economic development. Globally, 1.1 billion people do not have access to a grid or electricity, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. In rural parts of low-income countries, populations are best supplied with electricity from microgrids.
More here. And there’s an excellent Microgrid Knowledge site for more information about the sector.