Microgeneration

Microgeneration is the small-scale production of heat or electricity, usually near where it is used. It commonly relies on renewable sources and equipment installed at homes or local sites.

Photovoltaics: The direct conversion of light into electrical energy using semiconductor materials. Solar panels are a common way to generate electricity at a building.
Net metering: An electricity billing arrangement that credits customers for power exported to the grid. It can compensate microgenerators when their systems produce more electricity than they use.
Centralized generation: Electricity production concentrated in large power stations that supply wide areas through transmission networks. It contrasts with the smaller, near-use installations characteristic of microgeneration.
Energy transition: The shift from fossil-fuel-based energy systems toward low-carbon sources and technologies. Widespread microgeneration can contribute to this broader structural change.
Solar thermal collector: A device that captures sunlight as heat, usually transferring it to water or another fluid. It provides heat directly rather than converting sunlight into electricity.
Feed-in tariff: A policy that pays renewable electricity producers a set rate for power supplied to the grid. It has been used to encourage small generators to install renewable systems.
Combined heat and power: The simultaneous production of electricity and useful heat from one energy source. Micro combined heat and power is its small-scale form.
Grid parity: The point at which an energy source generates electricity at a cost equal to or below grid electricity. It helps determine when locally generated power becomes economically competitive.
Small wind turbine: A wind turbine designed to generate electricity for an individual building or small local system. It converts nearby wind into electricity at a microgeneration scale.
Virtual power plant: A coordinated network of distributed energy resources operated as a single power system. Aggregated microgenerators can contribute to grid services as a coordinated resource.

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