Put convicts on bicycles with generators attached. They get to ride and watch TV, eat otherwise unavailable treats while generating clean energy. Minimum ride contribution four hours, no more than ten.
All volunteers accumulate early release credits based on generated energy total.
You don't want to ride? No problem - sit in your cell, eat baloney sandwiches and wear a dress.
the problem is, even if you put all inmates cycling, you'd hardly gather enough energy to run a dozen metro trains in NYC. The same is for "clean" energy. Even if you put a photovoltaic or a wind turbine on every free field across USA, you wouldn't generate enough electricity to replace all conventional (including natural gas) power stations.
not to mention that "green" generation is based on the caprices of the sun or the wind, meaning that they only generate when there is sun or wind. usually the utility has to gave a rotating reserve on line. electricity has to be generated on the fly. people talking about batteries must be tongue-in-cheek_ there is no battery technology for power grids yet, not on the forseeable future.
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