Virtual Energy
Has the day of the smart computer controlled micro-grid arrived? They reduce dependency on power from large centralised utilities whilst at the same time empowering communities to become self sufficient in energy supplies. Blockchain computer code is the enabling technology that allows the vendor of surplus solar power to trade with a neighbour who wants to buy electricity.
Disclaimer
It is rare for me to write on a topic that I do not understand. It is equally rare for me to spend several hours trying to understand a topic and to be not much wiser after doing so. Some or all of what I have written here may turn out to be nonsense and readers are well advised to take no actions based on my words.
Microgrids
For a long while, I have read energy articles in the Green Tech Press which I believe are utter rubbish and I have understood the technical reasons why this is so. More recently I have been finding it increasingly hard to understand the jargon particularly with regards to the application of blockchain technology and I decided it was time to try and find out what is going on. This, for example from General Electric:
But the lasting impact of bitcoin may end up being blockchain, the technology that makes the currency work. Blockchain has the potential to integrate renewable energy into the electricity grid in a way that is clean, easy and meaningful to the average energy consumer.
The graphic is from General Electric Corporation and is for Carros on the Mediterranean coast of France (see below). GE continues…
This is all doable because Carros is home to the world’s first smart solar grid: a large scale experiment to integrate renewables into the grid. GE worked with French grid operator Enedis to install solar panels on residential and commercial rooftops, implement demand response technologies and create battery storage across the grid.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
