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This infographic shows how a neighborhood could create a microgrid for its own power by installing solar panels on roofs, small wind turbines, and natural gas generators. If excess electricity is produced, the microgrid can send it to the larger grid, or it can store electricity in batteries for use when the wind is not blowing or the sun is not shining. Power can be drawn from the grid as well.

If an outage occurs on the main grid, the microgrid can island itself off and power the houses, military installations or college dorms by using their own generation resources and battery power stored in a central station.

How many people does it take to turn on a lightbulb? Turns out that the answer is not as easy as we might think. From generating power to transmitting it over the power grid all the way to your home takes a lot of effort. In this animated introduction we take you deep into the heart of electricity generation.

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