CommonGrid is a new open-source, community-maintained registry of U.S. energy infrastructure that consolidates fragmented public data about utilities, power plants, transmission lines, and EV charging stations into a single connected model. The project aims to solve the problem of scattered grid information by providing accessible APIs, visual exploration, and downloadable datasets that show relationships between utilities, their service territories, and grid operators.
An industrial energy community allows a solar-equipped warehouse with daytime energy surplus to share electricity with a distribution hub that needs power at night, enabling both parties to benefit economically compared to grid rates. Energy sharing operates through the grid via the distribution system operator, matching production and consumption on 15-minute intervals using allocation keys to distribute shared energy fairly among members.