One of the power industry's better-kept secrets is that integrating
green energy sources with traditional, large-scale power generation
equipment is a challenge. The strengths of each play into the
weaknesses of the other.

Solar, wind, and even hydropower are intermittent sources of
energy (night time, calm days, and dry spells get in the
way) but the power industry must provide continuous service.
Older, coal-fired generators do not "turn on and off" easily
and cannot be used as backup. It's expensive to construct
new gas-fired installations, not to mention the issues
related to gas fuel production.

Big batteries are needed to store energy produced when the sun
shines, the wind blows, or the water falls, so it can be used
when green energy isn't available...and for peak usage periods
like scorching summer afternoons.

New England's largest battery is mechanical. A "pumped-storage
hydroelectric" battery is inside a mountain in Northfield, MA.
Energy is stored by pumping water uphill and is recovered, when
needed, by letting it flow back down. Like spicy foods,
though, this solution isn't for everyone: are there any
caverns for storage underneath the Finger Lakes? Yes? Could
they be used for this purpose?

Cheaper and more efficient versions of the ubiquitous
chemical battery are a hot topic. All too often we hear
about potentially revolutionary advances in battery tech
but the key word is, "potentially."

The cost of lithium-ion batteries has fallen rapidly:
about 85 percent less than ten years ago and as much as
30 percent less than just last year. It still takes many
batteries to store large amounts of power but it can be
done less expensively then in the past.

Some power utilities are installing massive battery banks to
service peak power periods. The cost is less than building
new generation plants, let alone running them.

Other utilities are taking a different approach. Green
Mountain Power, serving 265,000 customers in Vermont,
has a dream --and an ongoing program-- to place whole-house
batteries in every home. These would capture green energy and
provide service during power interruptions--effectively allowing
the utility to shed load during peak power demand moments.

Tompkins County can follow this example. A PPP (public
private partnership) with local power utilities, including
traditional fossil-fuel generators and developers of
large-scale solar, wind, and hydroelectric facilities,
could explore ways to decentralize power production and
storage. The goals would be to reduce reliance on aging,
expensive fossil-fuel generation, provide increased
reliability for consumers, and in the long run, save money.

All of this is closely tied to the ineluctable transition
to EV (electric vehicle) transportation. Solar PV systems,
together with battery storage, can collect daylight power
and transfer it to an idle vehicle at night. Outside of
the elusive /free/ commercial charging station, charging
at home is the least expensive way to fill an EV fuel tank
(electric "fuel" is a lot cheaper--perhaps 2x--than gasoline).
EV charging at home, with power from PV, is cheaper yet (by
as much as 6x, or 12x compared to gasoline) and is pollution
free.