Microgrids as peer-to-peer energy
“Small networks of power generators in ‘microgrids’ could transform the electricity network in the way that the net changed distributed communication.
… “the microgrids could work like peer-to-peer file-sharing technologies, such as BitTorrents, where demand is split up and shared around the network of ‘users’.
…”Micro-CHP units work by turning heat which would normally escape through flues into electricity. Homeowners then sell any surplus electricity back to the national grid.
…”‘In a traditional system, you have the power station and electricity flows from power station to users – it is unidirectional. The whole network is constructed around that unidirectional power flow.’