Are Distributed Energy Systems a Solution for Rural America?

After the recent hurricane hit western North Carolina, the local electric utility, Duke Power, said that road conditions in some rural areas were so poor (ie non-existent) that full service restoration could take as long as two to three months. This reminded us that Entergy gave the same service restoration estimates for more remote parts of their Louisiana service area after also experiencing the damaging effects of a category 4 hurricane. Two to three months without electricity, as we've said before, places these affected communities technologically...