Best Energy Strategy: Small, Green and Local, Experts Say

A new study says the best energy strategies to meet the world’s growing demand for electricity are green, small and local.

We should move away from reliance on large-scale centralized coal and nuclear plants, and instead, invest in renewable energy systems and small scale decentralized generation technologies.

According to Benjamin Sovacool from Virginia Tech, these alternative technologies are feasible, affordable, environmentally friendly, reliable and secure.

His detailed analysis shows that energy efficiency practices (like more efficient appliances), renewable energy systems (that create electricity from sunlight, wind and falling water), and small-scale generators (that produce power close to its point of consumption) can curb electricity demand, minimize the risk of fuel interruptions and shortages, help improve the fragile transmission network and reduce environmental harm.

He concludes that "it is these miniature generators – not mammoth and capital-intensive nuclear and fossil fuel plants – that offer the best strategy for diversifying electrical generation in a competitive energy environment."