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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RetiredNow who wrote (545422)	1/21/2010 6:13:59 PM
From: i-node	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1573911

Now think of our grid. It's a one way system with monopolies controlling what we get and when we get it and our government imposing pricing restrictions. Imagine a different grid that starts off being two-way and evolves to many to many, so that not only can I produce my own energy, but I can either sell it back to my utility at market rates or I can sell it to the highest bidder, which could be my neighbor, all in a seamless way, with transactions happening in real time and market prices without government market price controls. That's it? I mean, really. You think we should spend the dollars to upgrade to this "smart grid" so that a minuscule number of power producers could AUCTION their excess power rather than just be credited for it? You can't be serious. Surely, there are other benefits (other than power companies being able to charge more for electricity that is consumed during peak hours)? No? Make no mistake, I think it is fine to have such a free market. But it looks to me the cost of getting is far in excess of the value of such a de-minimus market. Unless you've got something else.

To: RetiredNow who wrote (545422)	1/21/2010 7:29:41 PM
From: bentway	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1573911

"Imagine a different grid that starts off being two-way and evolves to many to many, so that not only can I produce my own energy, but I can either sell it back to my utility at market rates or I can sell it to the highest bidder, which could be my neighbor, all in a seamless way, with transactions happening in real time and market prices without government market price controls." I LOVE this idea! I've proposed the same many times on this thread. What's needed is power generation affordable by individual homeowners, powerful enough to serve their own needs. Local storage would also be good. Such systems are still outside my price range, even with national and state subsidies.