Community and Small-Scale Grid Innovation - Smart Grid (R) Evolution: Electric Power Struggles - page 173

Small-scale power projects also have potential to exacerbate societal inequalities, as
richer communities are able to opt out of the communal electricity grid but poorer
communities do not have the resources to do so. Further, individual communities may
be financially overburdened if risks cannot be shared across the larger system. As noted
especially in Chapters 3 and 4 , smart grid requires huge investment in new technology -
investment that may overextend local communities.
And despite all the hype about locally sourced renewable energy, local power could
actually harm environmental quality. If decisions are made at the local level, a focus
on big-picture issues such as climate change may be lost. For example, in the Pacific
Northwest region of the United States, large-scale hydropower produces a significant
portion of the electricity. If a single community decides to develop its own microgrid, it
is likely that the mix of available energy sources will include coal, natural gas, wood, and
other fuels that produce more carbon emissions than hydropower. Finally, opponents argue
that citizen engagement is illusory because, just as in other smart grid options, individual
participants risk loss of privacy and control. Once the data exist, there is no way to fully
guarantee their security.
7.3 Technologies and Actors
The most basic technologies required for a local and community-based energy initiatives
are DG, “storage systems, distribution systems, and communication and control systems”
(Mariam 2013a ). Examples of smart grid technologies that are likely to play central roles in
microgrids are rooftop and community-based PV, wind turbines (both individual household
and community-level), low-voltage distribution network wires, and electric vehicles (EVs).
Although we recognize that some microgrids are based on fossil fuels (such as diesel
generation sets used on islands or isolated communities), these systems fall outside the
purview of smart microgrids.
One of the most difficult challenges of building small-scale projects is that, with the
exception of nanogrids, the number of actors does not decrease as the project becomes
smaller. For example, although their roles may shift slightly in small-scale electricity grids,
multiple constituents remain involved, albeit in different ways.
A more meaningful way to describe the actors involved in small-scale smart grid
initiatives may be to note changes in their roles and relative influence. As more utility
customers participate in these initiatives, the utilities “must embrace change in technology
and business models in order to maintain a viable utility industry” (Kind 2013 ) . Part of
that change is giving up some of their system control (McMahon 2014 ) . This is especially
challenging for large, bureaucratically organized incumbents that may have difficulty even