A City Off The Grid

"Skeptics say that the glitches and expenses that customers in the town of Woking, England, have experienced show that switching everyone to locally generated energy is an impractical pipe dream. But proponents say traditional power stations waste vast amounts of heat, and that grids and unsightly pylons lose even more energy before it reaches end-users."

"To overcome these obstacles, officials in Woking took the radical step of creating an entirely new network of private wires and private pipes."

"The system links 18 mini-power stations, some running on natural gas and hydrogen, others on renewable energy like solar power. Locally generated heat from some of these stations then is piped to nearby homes and offices in a process called cogeneration, saving on heating bills. In some cases, the process is used for refrigeration and air-conditioning, creating further savings."