The Times, They Are A-Changing

 Can there be solar and batteries providing grid power for some, while natural gas, hydro and biomass provide power for others ? 

     The quick answer is yes and it involves the latest "outside the box" creation  of the green energy crowd : microgrids. 
     A microgrid is basically a " community island " of standby electric power, ideally consisting of one or more of the renewable energy resources. The phrase "Distributed Energy Resources" is used frequently in the context of microgrids.
     As part of this "Community Island",  users or like-minded people can physically attain their electricity by producing the power inside the island perimeter, They can also own the poles, wires and transformers along with generation and apply their own rate structure to pay for their energy autonomy. 
     And, they can attach to the " Big Grid " to supplement their island power.
     Summarizing this arrangement, the " Big Grid "is where power is purchased from a mix of generation resources operating in a market based on competition. The " Community Island Grid "is powered on a selective generation, but retains the ability to draw power from the " Big Grid ".
      " Community Island Grids " can be any size, from a street, to an entire city or town, even an island in the sea. 
    This concept is a variation of how Rural America used to power their farms with onsite generation, mostly wind mills. The inventions of agricultural machinery advantaged by consistent electrical power propelled the rapid growth of America and the growth of wire and poles out to Rural America.
    
 The times, they are a-changing.
  Recent changes to Maine law stipulate that any proposal to build out or upgrade electrical distribution lines must include a non-wire alternative, or, before committing to upgrades to existing structures to accommodate area growth, a supplemental, local generation resource must be considered.
   Microgrids contain local generation resource(s). A collective of many microgrids are " Distributed Energy Resources " .
    How do you get unanimous support from all the electric consumers within a designated " Community Island ". Two separate pole and wire infrastructures is redundant and illogical to accommodate two separate power choices.  Do you have to have unanimous support or will a simple majority suffice ? 
    Many communities in Massachusetts are optioning for a single electricity supplier to provide power to everyone in the municipality. Some opt for a greener power choice. All arranged by majority vote of the residents. How is your town attendance at special town meetings ?  
    No doubt, there is a loud outcry for cleaner power and the magnitude of this outcry is shifting political decisions in their favor. 
    As a Maine electricity consumer, you currently pay 12% to 15% more for electric generation to provide for clean energy, with no microgrids.
     Soon, energy choice will be on the table of every geopolitical province of the State of Maine. And, as with all socialist ideas, the attack to do the right thing will be an attack upon your conscience.

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Comment by Dan McKay on February 19, 2019 at 11:53am

Willem,

   All the truth in the world is not going to stop the new, energized green dealers. Stay alert, everyone who cares about electricity costs.

Comment by Willem Post on February 19, 2019 at 11:47am

Dan,

Zillions of small, semi-autonomous grids, each connected to the big grid, would be a very expensive way for the New England to produce electricity.

Such a set up existed in the 1880s in New York.

After that, people got smarter and smarter and over time big grids won the day.

Everyone in the world uses big grids, unless you live on an ocean island.

France uses a big grid with 75% nuclear and has among the lowest household rates in Europe and has TEN TIMES lower CO2/kWh than Germany, which spent about $500 billion on RE since 2000

See URL

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/partial-capital-cost-of...

U.S. Sen Angus King

THE UNTOLD STORY OF RECORD HILL WIND

The Untold Story of Record Hill Wind, continued

 

Maine as Third World Country:

CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.

Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********

(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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