#micro-generation

My parents are not the most tech savey people around. Every time I visit, I normally have to work out some way to avoid showing them how to fix the latest issue with their PC; you know, difficult things like how to copy and paste and explaining what the internet is. But now my parents have well and truely trumped me on the whole technology front. No longer are my parents slaves to the whims of the energy companies, for my parents now generate at least some of their own electricity using solar panels. Yes, it’s ugly; but you’ve got to admit, micro-generation is going to become more and more viable as the technology decreases in price and increases in effeciency - and hopefully appearance. Micro-generation is a wonderful way to increase the proportion of renewable energy in the national grid without having to build any of those unsightly wind turbines [As a note, I actually find wind turbines an addition to the landscape in most places in which I have seen them. They represent a better way of humanity to live alongside nature, almost symbiotic in appearance rather than obviously paracitic]. Micro-generation also says something about ‘being in this together’. My parents actually contribute to the power the nation uses; they are part of the solution to our energy needs. Yes, they still need to rely on the grid when it gets dark, but it is at least a step in the right direction.