What we need is a new grid, one that's designed to move power in any direction. The current grid was built to move power in one direction, from the plant to the

What we need is a new grid, one that's designed to move power in any direction. The current grid was built to move power in one direction, from the plant to the home. If we set up a grid that allowed home-to-home transfer of electricity, we'd be able to support an energy market where the price of electricity is set by market forces instead of centralized utilities. Any producer of electricity can put his or her power on the market and compete with everyone else, and consumers can shop around the market for the best prices. It would be the internet analogue of power delivery. This is not some kind of libertarian dream world. This infrastructure will have to be created and maintained by the government, just like roads. There will probably have to be laws to regulate sale and prevent things like monopolies and non-discrimination. But otherwise whatever happens on this infrastructure will be more or less "free" for the market to decide. If our answer to climate change is for each home to be essentially an island responsible for maintaining all of the solar/wind infrastructure to meet their own power needs, then we're doomed. We need to be able to move and price power efficiently, and the current model of delivery is broken.