8 Stories that Offer Insight into the State of Distributed Energy Resources

by Elisa Wood, Energy Changemakers

I find it intriguing to monitor which of our stories capture the most attention. The data offers insight into industry growth patterns and pain points and guides what topics we pursue. Here's a list of the top 8 most-read distributed energy articles since we launched Energy Changemakers in January.

Not surprisingly, three themes jumped out: Interconnection delays, data access issues and AI.

And as I've found over the years, people really like articles about innovative projects. Hence, our number one most-read article was: 10 Intriguing Distributed Energy Projects to Watch in 2024

Then came:

2. How Bad are Interconnection Delays for Distributed Energy? We’ll Know Soon.

Stories abound about interconnection delays on the distribution grid. But they are mostly anecdotal. That’s about to change with a new project to map the delays nationwide — and make the information public

3. Technology Isn’t Causing the DER Industry’s Data Woes. It’s People.

Building distributed energy projects requires access to utility data that too often arrives in a format difficult to decipher, search or manipulate. (See Death by a Million PDFs.)

It’s hard to identify the exact cause of the problem. Some say utilities lack the incentive to help distributed energy companies that they view as competitors; others point to the fact that utilities are experts in energy, not information technology, so they don’t necessarily know how to make customer data accessible.

So finding a universal solution hasn’t been easy. The good news is that some states are making headway.

3. Challenges Virtual Power Plants Face. Are they Fixable? Insights from DOE’s Jen Downing

The Department of Energy released a pivotal document last year on virtual power plants (VPPs), a "liftoff" report designed to help commercialize the technology. Highly referenced within the emerging industry, the 74-page report found that deploying 80-160 GW of VPPs by 2030 could avert as much as $10 billion in annual grid costs.

How does the lead author, Jen Downing, think now about the report and its findings? What would she change?

4. Why We Need True AI-Driven Virtual Power Plants (Guest Article)

Guest contributor Anna Demeo writes that robust AI-driven platforms can process data from diverse sources, understand and predict patterns of energy usage and power generation, and then make real-time decisions to optimize resources for a virtual power plant. This level of sophistication in AI is essential for both the efficient operation of individual DERs and the overall reliability and stability of the power grid.

To achieve this, the industry must extend well beyond simple rule-based algorithms that have been the hallmark of early software platforms in this space. Rule-based algorithms use predefined rules or logic to make decisions. These rules limit them, and they cannot learn from new data or adapt to changing environments, which are critical in energy and transportation applications.

5. California Bill Calls for RPS-Like Targets for Virtual Power Plants

Over half of US states use renewable portfolio standards (RPS) to boost green energy. A California state senator proposed applying the same concept to virtual power plants (VPP).

State Sen. Henry Stern, a Democrat, introduced legislation requiring “load-serving entities,” such as California’s utilities and community choice aggregators (CCAs), to meet a percentage of their resource needs through virtual power plants.

(Update: The bill did not reach the hearing stage this year in California's legislative process.)

6. No One Said You’re Not Green, California. What’s in Question is Your Stance on Distributed Energy When California regulators rejected a net value billing tariff, frustration mounted for DER advocates who say it was the latest in a series of pro-utility decisions hampering local energy.

7. Think Community Energy Can’t Work? Tell that to Kit Carson Electric

How did this small New Mexico co-op, far from the energy innovation meccas of California and New York, become a model for community energy? And can others follow its lead?

8. Maine Issues RFP in Next Step Toward Distribution System Operator (DSO)

Maine has begun work on exploring the creation of a distribution system operator (DSO). It will be the first US state to create a DSO if it moves forward.

The DSO would oversee a transparent market to provide fair payment to the homes, businesses or communities that produce distributed energy. The approach is analogous to the regional transmission organizations and independent system operators that manage wholesale power markets in most of the United States.

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