A smart grid is a transactive grid.
- Lynne Kiesling
Who Needs Transmission Wires Anyway?

Via the Institute for Local Self Reliance, a podcast on the potential for the case for generating power where it is consumed: For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell is joined by Dan Juhl, Partner at E2SG Partners. Juhl and his partners develop clean energy projects — in particular, integrated systems […]

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EVs: Mini Power Plants — on Wheels

Via Wired, a look at how EVs – as the heart of a distributed energy network -will be hard at work, even when they’re stationary. Electric vehicles (EVs) are not new. Battery-powered cars were on city roads more than a century ago. And sales of EVs have been growing steadily over the past decade. EV adoption is […]

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The Coming Revolution in Smart Electric Power

Via the New York Academy of Sciences, a forecast from Yu Zhang, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA: The way we generate and consume electricity in the early 22nd century will look a lot different than the way we do it in the early 21st century. Advanced sensor capabilities and […]

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Tesla’s New Virtual Power Plant Lets Texans Sell Electricity Back To The Grid

Via Verge, an article on how Tesla is inviting Powerwall owners in parts of Texas to join in on its new retail electric provider service that is designed to save on energy costs: Tesla launched a new power utility provider service in Texas this week that lets select locals with home Powerwall backup batteries sell excess energy back […]

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Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay: A Revolutionary Power Distribution Network

Via Energy Daily, a look at at the next leap forward in energy distribution – leveraging wireless power beaming to create a dynamic, adaptive, speed of light wireless energy web: DARPA is working on the next leap forward in energy distribution by leveraging wireless power beaming to create a dynamic, adaptive, speed of light wireless […]

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Texas Designing 80 MW Virtual Power Plant Pilot With Aggregated Tesla Powerwall Batteries

Via Utility Dive.com, a report on Texas’ efforts to design a 80 MW virtual power plant pilot spurred by Tesla desire to aggregate Powerwall batteries: The Public Utility Commission of Texas is preparing to authorize development of an 80 MW virtual power plant project and could give approval for the initial phase of the pilot at […]

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About This Blog And Its Authors
Grid Unlocked is powered by two eco-preneurs who analyze and reference articles, reports, and interviews that can help unlock the nascent, complex and expanding linkages between smart meters, smart grids, and above all: smart markets.

Based on decades of experience and interest in conservation, Monty Simus believes that a truly “smart” grid must be a “transactive” grid, unshackled from its current status as a so-called “natural monopoly.”

In short, an unlocked grid must adopt and harness the power of markets to incentivize individual users, linked to each other on a large scale, who change consumptive behavior in creative ways that drive efficiency and bring equity to use of the planet's finite and increasingly scarce resources.