The opportunity
Enhance energy independence for communities, improve grid stability and resilience against large-scale outages, and facilitate the local generation and sharing of renewable energy.
From “Keynote: National Rural Electrical Cooperative, St. Louis - The Disruptive World of Energy & Renewables” (March 2014)
The disruptive impact of local community hyper-grids. The era that involves the end of oil and natural gas because of the dominance of renewables for energy investment going forward. An energy infrastructure that must support electrical vehicles and other disruptive trends. This organization brings together individuals from throughout the rural energy sector, and I put into perspective for senior Board member and executives from small utilities across the country, the reality of the trends that will define their future.
From “Decoding Tomorrow: The Way Forward: #3 Energy: ""The power plant of the past was a smokestack on the horizon. The power plant of the future is the solar panel on your roof, the battery in your garage, and the intelligent software that connects them all.”” (September 2025)
accelerating renewables & grid parity . Renewables like solar and wind are now the cheapest source for new power generation in most markets. In 2023, 81% of all new renewable capacity added worldwide generated electricity more cheaply than the most economical fossil fuel options.
the community-owned grid: Feldheim, Germany: A small village in Brandenburg, Germany, Feldheim is a pioneering example of a community-driven approach to energy independence. The local utility company refused to lease the local grid to the community, creating a major obstacle to their goal of self-sufficiency. In response, the community partnered with a local developer to build its own independent electricity and district heating grids, financed by EU support and a partnership of local households. The technology mix is diverse, including a 74 MW wind farm, a biogas plant fueled by local agricultural waste, and a solar park. The Outcome: Feldheim achieved 100% energy self-sufficiency, and residents enjoy energy prices about a third lower than the national average. The project created local jobs and now generates significant revenue by selling 99% of its wind power back to the national grid.
leverage the power of the cooperative: For community-scale projects, the cooperative model is a powerful tool. As demonstrated in Feldheim, Germany, pooling community capital can finance significant renewable energy projects. Partnering with municipalities is also a key strategy, as local governments can provide access to land and act as an “anchor tenant” by agreeing to purchase a portion of the energy produced.
From “AI Megatrends - AI In Energy : Connected, Intelligent Energy and Energy SaaS” (June 2023)
Prior to the arrival of large language models (LLMs) as seen with technologies like ChatGPT, the use of AI within the world of energy, particularly energy utilities and the electrical grid was defined by the massive data sets derived from the connectivity of the grid; the acceleration of renewables and grid technology that required the use of AI for management of variable power generation; and other similar trends.
Bottom line: energy in our electrical system used to be one-way and was mostly from carbon. We are now on the edge of an era in which it is becoming a two-way system, with generation primarily based on renewables, distributed, connected, intelligent, and part of a super big hyperconnected microgrid with a lot of batteries. And AI plays a huge role already and an even bigger role in this new energy grid going forward.
this grid connectivity also provides the opportunity for local community microgrids - you’ve got a grid, I’ve got a grid - let’s connect our grids
Read the full pieces on jimcarroll.com:
Keynote: National Rural Electrical Cooperative, St. Louis - The Disruptive World of Energy & Renewables
Decoding Tomorrow: The Way Forward: #3 Energy: ""The power plant of the past was a smokestack on the horizon. The power plant of the future is the solar panel on your roof, the battery in your garage, and the intelligent software that connects them all.”
AI Megatrends - AI In Energy : Connected, Intelligent Energy and Energy SaaS