NRG Energy Deploying Dean Kamen’s Solar-Smart In-Home Generator
"NRG would likely lease the generator to consumers next year"
NRG Energy Deploying Dean Kamen’s Solar-Smart In-Home Generator
Dean Kamen, Segway inventor, is now bringing energy autonomy and Stirling engines powered by natural gas to the home.
Martin LaMonica
November 12, 2013
Few executives are more outspoken about the threat that distributed energy poses to utilities than NRG Energy CEO David Crane, so it’s not surprising that NRG Energy plans to sell a product that is disruptive to the centralized power business model.
The company is working with Deka Research on an on-site “energy appliance,” according to NRG Energy’s corporate sustainability report. In an interview last week with The Atlantic, Crane said the device, called Beacon 10, can generate electricity from natural gas, work with a battery and rooftop solar, and provide backup in the case of a grid outage. “When there’s not enough solar, you turn on the Beacon 10. Then, ideally, the grid itself would just be the ultimate backup. It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” he said.
Deka Research is headed by Dean Kamen, a renowned inventor best known for creating the Segway transporter who has worked extensively with Stirling engines. Earlier this year at the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference, NRG Energy showed a portable Stirling engine, and Crane said that the company is working with Kamen to test 200 of the machines in homes. Kamen has already made a multi-fuel, Stirling-engine-based water purifier called the Slingshot, which Coca-Cola will distribute to rural Latin America and African villages.
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Beacon 10 is one of a number of products NRG Energy has that are outside the typical offerings of conventional utilities. The company has developed a solar canopy and has installed EV charging stations at retail locations. It’s also one of the utilities working with Nest Labs to offer consumers a two-way thermostat.
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The Atlantic interview is at http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/11/who-will-compete-with-energy-companies-in-the-future-apple-comcast-and-you/281109/
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If it can mix solar, wind, propane gas, other gases, and even electricity from the regular supply ... and have some battery backup storage... and if I can afford it... yup, sign me up!
As large companies close down their large offices and send their employees to work from home, a reliable power supply is very helpful. If a freak winter storm comes in, and your home is without power for days, those are days you're not working. Between the phone company's DSL (if available), the cable company's service (if available) and other wireless options... the work-at-home employee has some control over their connectivity. The same level of control and reliability isn't there with the power company, especially around these parts where you have one company controlling everything. Having backups, and backups to backups.... just wonderful 
