text: In April 2011, John Farrell wrote: 
  
  solar and other renewable energy developers must find the best places to plug in to the 
  grid, e.g. where demand is high or infrastructure is stressed. The cost to connect 
  distributed generation may also be lower in these areas. Unfortunately, data about a 
  utility's grid system is rarely public. 
  
  California utilities are changing the game. Southern California Edison (SCE) rolled out 
  a map of its grid system, highlighting (in red) areas that "could potentially minimize 
  your costs of interconnection to the SCE system." Since as much as a third of the cost of 
  PV can be recaptured via its benefits to the electric grid when properly placed in the 
  distribution system, having this information is crucial for solar developers.*Public data*
  *also levels the playing field between independent power producers and the utilities,*
  *since the latter can use federal tax credits and their proprietary knowledge of the*
  *electric grid to build their own distributed renewable energy at the most attractive*
  *locations.*
  
  Having public data on distribution grid hot spots can make renewable energy 
  development more cost effective and more democratic. Tell your utility to publish its 
  map. 
  
  This, instead, is an excerpt of This Data isn't dull. It improves lives (March 2011, New York Times) 