From the Grid or Your Backyard: Where Will Energy Come From in the Future?
The energy industry is poised for some serious change. With the rise of battery technology, renewable technology, and the EPA’s new Clean Power Plan, everyone wants to know: where will our energy come from in the future? Will national energy grids still reign? Or will individual homes or neighborhoods create all their own energy?
Centralized energy grid
A centralized energy grid has the benefit of being able to spread huge quantities of energy over large spaces very quickly. It keeps all of our communities connected and is much cheaper and more reliable than on-site energy generation—there’s a reason why the current energy grid in America is set up this way! This system is especially beneficial for low-income families, who wouldn’t be able to afford to invest in the necessary equipment to reliably generate power on-site in their homes.
However, creating such an expansive network of towers, cables, and relay stations costs a lot of money, labor, and time. So while this might seem like the better option in the long term, it costs a lot initially.
It is important to note that this centralized energy grid could run on renewable energy, though this is not the only option.
On-site energy generation
While a centralized energy grid could run on any number of different energy sources, on-site energy generation in our nation’s homes would almost certainly be from renewable energy sources.
It isn’t such a stretch to imagine American homes generating their own electricity. Some homes have generated their own power for hundreds of years: fireplaces, wood-burning furnaces, and on-site propane power have been in use a long time to provide heat and electricity to homes. However, our power needs have become more sophisticated as our technology becomes more and more advanced, meaning that renewable energy generation will likely replace these sources in the future.
In fact, three American cities run on 100% renewable energy, and some homes can actually produce energy instead of consuming it. That’s going a step above just being self-sufficient!
What does the future hold?
The most likely scenario is that we’ll some combination of these options in the future. Neither are likely to go away. A centralized grid is a safe and reliable option for supplying such a large nation, but on-site energy generation can be a great back up to have during power outages.
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