Who will provide our renewable electricity in the future?  

For a climate neutral energy system we will have to revise our current one.  Because how we provide ourselves with electrical energy in today's world is based on a centrally controlled system that the fossil fuel age has produced. Since we want to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources, we need to also change the current system. That's because in our current system, state and federal energy utilities produce electricity and distribute it through grids to our homes and businesses. In this way, energy is converted into electricity in power plants and distributed to consumers via large power lines.

But we can also see that for change to occur, a major structural change in the energy system would be necessary. But how do we manage that?  In the future:

  • we will have many small power generators
  • a market that is decentralized
  • a power grid (cables etc.) in small-scale networks
  • consumers will also be producers and will take an active role in the energy sector.

The benefits of this new system are clear: Rather than being dependent on one large plant, there are many smaller ones. If one of them has an issue, we can still use the many others. This means the new system is more resilient: When a problem occurs, it is easier to help it self and recover.

Communities can also become self-sufficient (meaning they are not dependent on a large producer, who can for example mandate high prices) and use many surfaces, that are currently not used for the production of energy: Roofs of all sorts and also sun-exposed walls. These in turn could be used for shading: cycle paths with solar panels above don't get as hot in summer and are protected from the rain. Even on the fields, solar panels could be installed above crops, reducing the need for irrigation in summer.