Reply from Eloncity CEO - Andy:

Each user provides his own power while community members back up one another. If the locally produced renewable energy is insufficient to fulfill the demands of the community members, BLSP, greenfield or incumbent, can bring in more energy from neighboring communities or the existing grid. Again, we simply make our service providers more competitive by producing some (or all) of the energy locally and we have no intention to push utilities out of business.

Reply from Eloncity CEO - Andy:

The last mile network belongs to the community and therefore the community is liable to maintain the network. Unlike its AC counterpart, which has active components on the network (transformers), DC-bus is passively operated and, therefore, the durability of the network will last much longer. Power cables are buried 3 feet below the ground with durable insulation, identical to the 12KV/10KV AC wires. We hardly observe issues on this last mile network and the Foundation will charter more studies on how to charge users for maintaining the network. Please note that the AC grid is expensive for its distribution portion except for the last mile of the network. 

Reply from Eloncity CEO - Andy:

ELONCITY collects nothing. Communities own their own micro-grid and nobody collects any fees. The benefits should belong only to the community.

Reply from Eloncity CEO - Andy:

The price of lithium batteries have dropped as electric vehicles became more and more popular. The price of the battery is reaching the point where everybody can afford to buy enough battery packs to support his/her own daily demand. While the battery has already helped reach supply and demand issues on renewable energy, the reasonably sized network is used to share batteries so nobody needs to purchase several batteries to survive (these battery packs stay idle most of the time). ELONCITY believes it is taking the best of both worlds to solve the supply and demand issues of energy, regardless of time or space.

Reply from Eloncity CEO - Andy:

We believe that nobody should stand in the middle and not benefit from every single project. ELONCITY believes that communities should be empowered to replicate the ELONCITY MODEL by choosing its own equipment manufacturers, following instructions (and videos) to install the software and run the services according to the guidebook (operational manual published by the AI Grid Foundation). As the power infrastructure is distributed, so is the setup. 

Reply from Eloncity CEO - Andy:

We share the same vision that we can someday power the world with renewable energy. The minor difference is that Mr. Musk believes one company can do it all while ELONCITY is relying on the communities to achieve the goal. ELONCITY also believes that people shouldn’t pay more for renewable energy as there is merely just the conversion cost to make the renewable energy available 24/7.

Reply from Eloncity CEO - Andy:

This is true, although the foundation has no intention to destroy the existing grid network as there are still plenty of communities which cannot generate all the energy they need. For instance, high-rise apartments in a cosmopolitan area cannot produce energy on its own. However, it can purchase energy from existing utilities at a constant rate and hence create no extra burden for the grid network. In fact, because of an energy storage system (ESS) at each residence, the apartment building can collectively reduce the load on the grid network by supporting its own demand through the discharge of these behind the meter ESS. If needed, these energy storage systems can feed energy back to the grid to suppress the energy demand during peak hours and earn rewards from utilities. The Ai Grid foundation believes that eventually, along with the grid service providers, we can make electricity the primary source of our energy and eliminate our dependence on fossil energy.

Reply from Eloncity CEO - Andy:

We highly recommend if you intend to use wind power near residences, please choose the smaller H-Axis wind turbine which produces no more than 1 kWh per hour. These wind turbines are a great compliment to the PV panels as these two generators generally produce energy at different hours of the day (while wind turbines, at some locations, often produce nothing during the summer). The H-Axis wind turbine, as shown in our introduction video, produces little noise and reduces risks to birds. The foundation will provide more studies in the near future and will guide users to select the right wind turbines for communities. 

Reply from Eloncity CEO - Andy:

You are absolutely right. The ELONCITY MODEL is for everybody but corporate investors. You will purchase equipment from your local manufacturers at an extremely competitive price and lower the cost of locally produced renewable energy. ELONCITY is not the middleman making the profit. ELONCITY merely ensure every community can duplicate the MODEL in a relatively simple manner and ensures that the code will be fair among community members.

Reply from Eloncity CEO - Andy:

Please refer to the ELONCITY white paper and the ECT Dissemination Plan. We believe we know how and why energy flows and we have all the missing pieces to solve the puzzle.

Reply from Eloncity CEO - Andy:

I believe that Mr. Musk will share our vision just as ELONCITY shares what he believes that we can power the world with renewable energy. By the way, ELON CITY is actually a real city near Durham, NC.

Reply from Eloncity CEO - Andy:

The team plans to primarily utilize solar energy to produce renewable energy within the community. Otherwise, the micro-grid will buy energy at a wholesale rate (and possibly a negative rate) during off-peak hours. For instance, the city of Toronto only produced 5 grams of carbon dioxide from its nuclear power plants, hydropower plants, and wind turbines.