Distributed Computing As Business Model within Smart Grids

Some types of renewable energy resources like wind energy or solar cells are bonded to problems such as the energy providing pattern that does not fulfill the needs of the electric energy consumers. This situation leads the provider to the problem that an electric network always has to be balanced – the amount of provided energy must be the same as the consumed one. In a worst case scenario this leads to a situation where providing electric energy will not be service – instead it will be invoice able by the consumer. The energy consumption of modern computer systems is increased based on the higher performance available for consumers. This trend will increase based on the spread of personal computer systems to individuals. In context to the problem of controllable network load provider within a power grid, this development could be a chance: data centers are acting as cloud providers and even personal computers are capable to provide great amounts of processing power as well as network load capabilities. The major difference between these computers and other network load devices is the already existing infrastructure connectivity to control the behavior externally. This paper provides a concept of a business model and associated controlling software which presents an economic added-value to both electric power providers and consumers.