JBeukema
Rookie
- Banned
- #1
America needs to change the way it meets its energy needs. We have seen in the past massive rolling blackouts, rendering large swathes of the States without power, triggered by relatively minor issues as a single or several locations. Relying one one massive system renders America vulnerable to failures of that system, be they accidental, due to technical difficulties, or perpetuated by individuals with malicious intent.
What we need is a decentralized system in which every home and businesses, using the means available to them- be they solar, wind,geothermal, or some other means of production- seeks to generate all the power they need. IN times of high demand, or if their own production is insufficient to fit their needs, they should draw power from a smaller grid comprised of other homes and building in their area and also shared sources of production- wind farms, solar farms, nuclear or coal plants. Each of these micro-grids should then be connected to oneanother through a hierarchal system, where each tier can operate indepently of those next to or above it. Our aging infrastructure, currently our lifeline, should then be converted to transmit power as needed between the largest sets of these 'microgrids'.
Such a system would help isolate people from rolling blackouts, reduce the vulnerability of America's power supplies, and improve overall efffiency, while the investment in producing one's own power would help to save money and greatly reduce power bills in the future.
It falls to every homeowner to dcide to lead this effrt in their own home, beginningby adding to or retrofitting their homes with wind or solar power to the extent they can. Itfalls to local and state leaders to put into effect tax breaks for such investments to help encourgae such progress and to osh for the adoption and development of such a system, in their towns, cities, counties, and states. This is a system that would have to be built from the bottom-up-- not by big daddy fed, but by homeowners, local busincesses, and cites and other local bodies. The fed and the massive power supergiants should not be the vulnerable backbone of America. They should work together to strengthen systems that should be able to survive alone, generate their own power and revenue, and encourage good ol' American inginuity, drive, and technological innovation.
What we need is a decentralized system in which every home and businesses, using the means available to them- be they solar, wind,geothermal, or some other means of production- seeks to generate all the power they need. IN times of high demand, or if their own production is insufficient to fit their needs, they should draw power from a smaller grid comprised of other homes and building in their area and also shared sources of production- wind farms, solar farms, nuclear or coal plants. Each of these micro-grids should then be connected to oneanother through a hierarchal system, where each tier can operate indepently of those next to or above it. Our aging infrastructure, currently our lifeline, should then be converted to transmit power as needed between the largest sets of these 'microgrids'.
Such a system would help isolate people from rolling blackouts, reduce the vulnerability of America's power supplies, and improve overall efffiency, while the investment in producing one's own power would help to save money and greatly reduce power bills in the future.
It falls to every homeowner to dcide to lead this effrt in their own home, beginningby adding to or retrofitting their homes with wind or solar power to the extent they can. Itfalls to local and state leaders to put into effect tax breaks for such investments to help encourgae such progress and to osh for the adoption and development of such a system, in their towns, cities, counties, and states. This is a system that would have to be built from the bottom-up-- not by big daddy fed, but by homeowners, local busincesses, and cites and other local bodies. The fed and the massive power supergiants should not be the vulnerable backbone of America. They should work together to strengthen systems that should be able to survive alone, generate their own power and revenue, and encourage good ol' American inginuity, drive, and technological innovation.
