A Fully Distributed Power Grid?

rleyton writes "There's an interesting and topical black-out article on an "internet inspired" hydrogen powered energy network. The premise is homes, cars, factories and offices store up hydrogen when energy is available, and supply it into the new energy network when it's not. Certainly an intriguing idea, with some interesting comments on future power management. Feasible in the next "three decades"? Perhaps."

HYDROGEN Powered?

[LiftOp]

Oh, the humanity...!

Let me get this straight

[L. VeGas]

I will be encouraged to pass gas?

like distributed computing?

[Anonymous Coward]

Computers moved from mainframes to LANs long ago... I guess the power grid is finally catching up with the times?

Re:Awesome Idea

[Anonymous Coward]

Stored up, from cracking water apart into hydrogen and oxygen.

With tiny little chisels.

idea!

[tssiap_wmuc]

we should use methane to store. god knows after a good mexican meal i could power half my neighborhood

And we'll all be attached..

[cnb]

.. to the matrix.

Suspicious...

[euxneks]

This sounds suspiciously like people "sharing" their power!
Better watch your ass for the RIAA and MPAA.

Hydrogenster

[snoopyjd]

"The consequences of connecting every owner of a fuel-cell micro-power plant with every other owner in an energy-sharing network will be as profound and far-reaching as was the development of the world wide web in the 1990s"

Does the RIAA know about this yet?

sounds familiar

[zptdooda]

so power flows all over the place, often causing congestion, energy loss and blackouts

Hmm, the same reasons the city department gave us not to eat the wild mushrooms growing down by the creek...

Okay. Mod me down for troll.

[YanceyAI]

Over the course of the next three decades, millions of people will purchase their own power plants. Fuel cells inside cars, homes, factories and offices will be capable of producing electricity for their own use during emergencies, while sending the surplus back to the power grid to share with others.

Which works great until the RIAA, um I mean Power Companies, start suing us for sharing on our P2P energy network.

How EXACTLY would this benefit Halliburton?

[burgburgburg]

If it doesn't, then it obviously isn't proper energy policy.

Deleted scene from 'The Matrix'

[Channard]

Thanks a lot. I now have a mental image of a bunch of people hooked up ass first to a huge contraption, Matrix style.

Re:Awesome Idea

[Anonymous Coward]

Yada yada yada. Whose going to listen to you and your sensible solutions?

Re:Flywheels?

[Canthros]

If everyone charges their flywheels during off-peak hours, but the flywheel provides power during the normal peak usage period, doesn't that effectively change the power consumption such that peak and off-peak usage periods reverse?

Re:Flywheels?

[Anonymous Coward]

*cries*