Decentralized power

Soon you might be borrowing a cup of energy from your neighbour instead of a cup of sugar.

Decentralized energy is an alternate to conventional grid energy where consumers make their own power and then trade, sell or share surpluses with neighbours. The problem is that nobody has any money. Alternative energy sources save money in the long run but are expensive to implement. The old ‘spend-money-to-save-money’ pitch may be a difficult one to make to cash-strapped consumers in the United States.  

So it’s up to the government to intervene, since the payoff could mean nearly a limitless source of energy. President Obama maintains that those countries that switch to renewable resources such as solar energy will become world leaders. 

The U.S. invented solar technology but has not been producing it at the same rates as countries like Japan and Germany. Currently, the US doesn’t even have one tenth of one percent of electricity or heating from solar. Using existing technology, the U.S. could replace one percent of its total energy consumption with solar energy each year.

In Alberta, micro-generation legislation was passed in January 2009, meaning that consumers are now able to sell their residential surpluses to the provincial grid. 

And new projects, like the Calgary District Energy Project are looking at providing self-sufficient heating and power networks. A $1-billion Shepard power station project would have the capacity to heat about one-third of Calgary’s 30 million square feet of office space.

Now that’s the type of Power Play that Canadians can get behind.