Empowering Communities Through a Distributed Grid
A Smarter Way to Power Our Neighborhoods
Executive Summary
As our energy needs evolve and solar adoption accelerates, the traditional centralized power grid is facing mounting pressure. Meanwhile, individual homes with solar and battery systems are producing more energy than they can use. A new approach is emerging—the distributed grid—where communities share power locally before drawing from the larger utility network. This white paper explores how a distributed grid can boost resilience, protect the utility grid, reduce costs, and empower communities to take control of their energy future.
1. The Current Problem
The U.S. electrical grid is based on a 100-year-old model: centralized power generation, long-distance transmission, and local distribution. This system is:
Vulnerable to outages from storms, fires, or cyberattacks
Increasingly strained during peak demand (e.g., heat waves, EV charging surges)
Often inefficient, with energy lost during long-distance transmission
At the same time, solar adoption has soared, but excess power from homes is often exported back to the main grid, adding complexity rather than solving it.
2. What Is a Distributed Grid?
A distributed grid is a neighborhood-based energy network where:
Homes with solar and/or batteries provide power not only for themselves but also for nearby homes
Excess solar energy is shared locally, reducing demand on the central grid
Smart controls and metering manage when to use local energy, when to charge batteries, and when to draw from or send power to the grid
In case of an outage, the community can operate as an islanded microgrid, maintaining power independently
3. How It Works
Solar homes generate energy
Energy is used locally first (within that home)
Surplus is automatically routed to neighboring homes
A smart controller tracks:
Who needs power
Who has excess
When batteries should charge/discharge
The system only draws from the utility grid when local resources are insufficient
4. Key Benefits
✅ Grid Relief
Reduces peak load on the utility grid and smooths out demand curves✅ Resilience
Maintains power during outages by allowing communities to “island” and use shared energy✅ Efficiency
Minimizes transmission losses by using energy close to where it's produced✅ Affordability
Helps non-solar homes access cheaper, cleaner energy without full system installations✅ Scalability
Works at the block, subdivision, or town level—scalable from 10 homes to 10,000
5. What’s Needed to Make It Work
Smart inverters and controllers
For energy flow management, load prioritization, and real-time responseBidirectional metering
To track and bill usage and generation fairly between neighborsLegal and regulatory frameworks
Current laws often prohibit energy sharing across property linesCommunity participation
Residents must understand, trust, and buy into the shared power model
6. Examples in Action
Brooklyn Microgrid (New York): Peer-to-peer solar trading in a real urban environment
Sonnen Communities (U.S. and Europe): Battery-backed homes that form neighborhood-scale virtual power plants
Virtual Power Plants (California, Australia): Distributed solar + storage systems coordinated to support the grid
7. Vision for the Future
Imagine a neighborhood where:
Lights stay on during storms
Families save money on power
The environment is cleaner
The community thrives without being dependent on distant power plants
The distributed grid makes this possible. It’s not just a technical idea—it’s a social one, built on the principles of sharing, local strength, and self-reliance.
Conclusion
We are on the edge of a power revolution. By embracing distributed grids, communities can gain energy independence, reduce their carbon footprint, and protect the integrity of the larger grid. It’s time to stop thinking house-by-house and start thinking block-by-block.
Martin J. Cheney
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