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Comment by gjem97 | Hacker News Reader

I love the idea. I think microgrids make sense for a lot of applications. However, I don't see how the blockchain really fits in to it. At the end of the day, someone has to maintain the shared infrastructure: the wires that connect the homes in the microgrid, and presumably some hardware to manage connecting to the macrogrid. That organization a) needs to be funded somehow and b) is a logical central party for managing the flow of electrons and money.

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Yeah, it really seems like a better application of a 'micro-grid' would be to provide alternative green electricity to your neighbors.

Like okay, you have a bunch of solar panels and a battery bank. Why not let people plug in at a kiosk near the bank? At a micro scale, your neighbors could hook up a heavy-duty appliance cable or two to their houses. You could use RFID cards, magstrip cards, username/password, a web frontend, an app, etc for identification, metering, and billing.

Sure you could accept cryptocurrency for account credits, but you could also accept cash or credit/debit. It's just another payment processor.

Yes, for example I think this makes sense for apartment buildings and other communal living situations. I think it would make sense to do solar and/or CHP depending on regional weather.

Well, assuming the law lets you do that at all. In my European country, my uncle tried to do something similar (purchase a wind turbine and sell electricity to his village neighbors) and he discovered there's simply no legal way to sell electricity except to the main grid company.

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