Revenue-Generating Microgrids: Solar and battery systems that profit from energy arbitrage, grid stabilization services, and demand response markets while providing automatic backup power during grid failures. They remain grid-connected for economic optimization but can âislandâ instantly during disruptions.
While itâs possible that batteries get much cheaper, right now they are prohibitively expensive for days worth of storage. There are low-cost options at large scale, including compressed air energy storage and pumped hydropower, and there may be reasonable cost versions involving air at smaller scale, such as the systems that liquefy air.
Resilience-Focused Food Systems: Local container farms and seed co-ops that supplement, rather than replace, large-scale agriculture, ensuring a baseline of food security
If by container farms you mean using artificial light, thatâs very inefficient and expensive.
Multi-Track Career Systems: Scientists maintain portfolios across traditional academia, prediction market validation, open-source contributions, and commercial applications, reducing career risk and institutional dependency.
I think some scientists would, but most would prefer to specialize.
AI-Driven Load Balancing: Sophisticated software manages the complex energy market, predicting demand and seamlessly shifting loads between the central grid, community batteries, and even electric vehicle fleets.
Profitable Energy Storage: Beyond national oil reserves, communities maintain local âenergy buffersâ like green hydrogen storage or charged battery banks, providing a distributed backup for critical infrastructure while earning revenue from grid services (frequency regulation, peak shaving, voltage support) during normal operations.
Iâm a fan of vehicle to grid, where vehicles with some formal electric drive can provide grid services including backup power.
Economic Incentives for Distributed Energy: Technology cost reductions and new revenue streams (grid services, peer-to-peer energy trading, carbon credits, micro-reactors) made distributed systems profitable rather than just environmentally beneficial.
Iâve done some research on nuclear micro reactors, and I think there is potential for isolated areas like in Alaska where they have to ship diesel in. But I think itâs going to be difficult to be competitive with bulk power.
Pragmatic Integration over Ideological Purity: The most successful projects focused not on going âoff-gridâ but on creating valuable services for the grid (e.g., selling battery capacity for stabilization), which funded their development.
I agree with this.
Resilience Inequality: Well-resourced communities can afford robust, multi-day backup systems, while poorer regions remain vulnerable to grid failures, creating a stark divide between the âresilientâ and the âbrittle.â
Commenting on d/âacc:
While itâs possible that batteries get much cheaper, right now they are prohibitively expensive for days worth of storage. There are low-cost options at large scale, including compressed air energy storage and pumped hydropower, and there may be reasonable cost versions involving air at smaller scale, such as the systems that liquefy air.
If by container farms you mean using artificial light, thatâs very inefficient and expensive.
I think some scientists would, but most would prefer to specialize.
Iâm a fan of vehicle to grid, where vehicles with some formal electric drive can provide grid services including backup power.
Iâve done some research on nuclear micro reactors, and I think there is potential for isolated areas like in Alaska where they have to ship diesel in. But I think itâs going to be difficult to be competitive with bulk power.
I agree with this.
That sounds reasonable.