The Brooklyn Microgrid, a community experiment in energy generation, wants to make locally sourced power a reality During even a brief shopping trip through Brooklyn, the value placed on ?local? becomes immediately apparent. Stores overflow with regionally sourced, locally crafted, made-in-Brooklyn everything. Now, a new energy startup based in the borough wants to trade on the exclusivity of locally sourced power with a new neighborhood solar grid.
The broad contours of the Brooklyn Microgrid, an effort to create a localized, sustainable energy market in the neighborhoods of Park Slope and Gowanus, may sound a little like the beginnings of a promising Portlandia sketch. But this test run in small-scale energy trading, which has already recruited and linked up dozens of consumers and residents with solar panels, is a significant experiment in making renewable power more affordable and attainable. ?We?re creating a market where people can pick their energy supply,? says Sasha Santiago, who runs marketing and community engagement for LO3 Energy, the tech company that developed and now runs the Brooklyn Microgrid. ?I don?t have a rooftop, but what if I could invest into community solar and battery storage" People could have bigger stakes in how their neighborhoods work.?
By linking up neighbors who have solar panels with those who want to buy clean energy, the Microgrid will harness new energy technology and the power of the market in a novel attempt to change ho...