The Next L.A. / Reinventing Our Future : PREPAREDNESS : IDEA FILE: Alternative Energy Power Networks

How it works

Most homeowners now draw electricity from networks built by giant utilities such as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. An alternative grid would give consumers the option of purchasing power from non-utility producers or setting up their own home power generator, using solar or wind energy.

Benefits

A smaller-scale power grid might be less susceptible to earthquakes because it would involve fewer large, complex components, such as transformers and transmission lines that could be damaged. Energy sources other than coal and nuclear energy also present fewer environmental problems.

Short-term or Long-term Impact

Could be implemented in stages, as costs come down and consumers see that the equipment is reliable.

Supporters

Environmental advocates have long backed the idea of weaning consumers from huge utilities and hooking them up to sources of “clean” power such as solar, wind, thermal and biomass. They argue that would reduce coal pollution of the air and dependence on nuclear energy, which produces highly toxic breakdown products and poses the danger of radioactive releases. Once the equipment is purchased and installed, it is relatively cheap to operate and maintain. In the event of a quake, small home-based solar systems might survive better than huge power plants, transformers and transmission towers.

Opponents

They contend that the current power system is a reliable, fairly efficient way to deliver power to large numbers of people. They also say sources such as solar power are in their technical infancy, and their cost at the moment is prohibitively high. Buying the equipment and batteries needed to run a home solar system now costs about $10,000 to $15,000. Most homeowners are unwilling to spend that much upfront when conventional power is so much cheaper by comparison. Nonetheless, some utilities are experimenting with solar on a small scale. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District recently installed solar power plants at the homes of 100 customers.

The Costs

Only about 50,000 U.S. homes now use solar electricity, most of them in rural areas where the cost of extending conventional power lines is very high. Billions would be required to convert to alternative power on a mass scale. But long-term advantages might eventually offset start-up costs.

Reality Check

Unlikely.