A recent New York Times article shines the spotlight on a huge roadblock on the world’s path to sustainable energy: power grids.

Citing an extensive analysis by the International Energy Agency, the article points out that most countries are woefully behind in building the power lines and electric grids needed to support the coming exponential increase in solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles.

This is why YouSolar is spearheading the decentralized energy future.

YouSolar’s high-power nanogrid is a key technology that relieves peak power from the grid, which is the crux of the problem. Our solution works on a large scale because, unlike traditional grid-tied solar or batteries, there are no technical limits to how many PowerBloc’s can be deployed.

The power grid in Cathedral City, California. Photo credit: Alex Welsh for The New York Times

A recent report by the Brattle Group on virtual power plants estimates savings of $35 billion per year in the United States if utilities started to use home batteries, rooftop solar and related technologies more efficiently.

Exponential demand is not the only thing that puts stress on the grid. Extreme weather compounds the problem.

At the same time, extreme weather events like heat waves and wildfires are increasing the risk of power outages, requiring additional investments in fortifying electric grids.

Instead of trying to fix the grid, more investment should go into Decentralized Energy Resources.

We have long argued that the trillions of dollars estimated to be required in grid investments over the next few decades will be much better deployed into Decentralized Energy Resources (also known by their acronym, DER), specifically rooftop solar accompanied by high-power battery systems.

Decentralized power is making its way into mainstream thinking. Stay tuned to hear more about it soon!