In the Renewable Energy World’s Sept-Oct 2009 issue, Elisa Wood highlights a different way of looking at upgrading the GIRD:
GridSolar has taken the unusual step of proposing a solar photovoltaic project not as generation, but as transmission. The company has asked state regulators to approve 800 MW of solar capacity as an alternative to US $1.5 billion high-voltage transmission line the local utility, Central Main Power, want to build. Describing itself as a smart grid alternative, GridSolar appears to be the first solar project in the US designed specifically to meet transmission needs.
This is interesting. It highlight the rethinking that must happen around power distribution – contrasting the macro grid to the micro gird. GridSolar states on their site that “We can provide reliable electrical power by constructing small-scale solar facilities in open fields near several Maine communities – without the use of eminent domain and far less pollution.” Check out their presentation below.