Distributed Energy in 2016: What experts expect for a booming sector

[kristopher]

DERs in 2016: What experts expect for a booming sector
Tax credit extensions can be a big opportunity for utilities and DER developers in the upcoming year
By Herman K. Trabish | January 4, 2016

Just before the new year, the wind and solar industries won some hard-fought extensions of vital federal tax credits in a omnibus spending bill brokered in Congress. But that's just the beginning of a big 2016 for the renewable energy industry, according to sector insiders.

More affordable wind, utility-scale solar, and distributed solar are going to leverage new applications in energy storage and smart devices, experts told Utility Dive. Synergistic distributed energy resources (DERs) will attract corporate buyers, shared renewables developers, and even mainstream energy sector players.

Utilities will also incorporate DERs into planning processes, transforming formerly hostile regulatory proceedings into collaborative, solution-oriented rate design conversations. The result will be new levels of grid reliability and resiliency, making it easier and cheaper than expected to meet Clean Power Plan goals.

“Regulators are realizing it is no longer business as usual and the status quo isn’t going to work going forward,” said Marlene Motyka, Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions alternative energy leader.

Regulators need to figure out how to work with utilities and the market to provide customers with "the affordable, reliable, clean electricity they want. It is the over-riding trend that cannot be ignored.” ...

http://www.utilitydive.com/news/ders-in-2016-what-experts-expect-for-a-booming-sector/411141/

[bananas]

1. Good article. nt

[kristopher]

2. A little known aspect of how "regulated" changes work

Business and industry place great value on consistency and predictability. When change is proposed - or even just needed - due to reasons external to the direct needs of the the business community affected, they will usually resist such change strongly. The nature of the resistance will often be extreme and lead an observer to think that the the 'kicking and screaming' will be part of the picture until the bitter end.

However, in reality, the same motives that create such strong early resistance also create another effect - the race for early adoption. Once the change is perceived as inevitable the race begins to secure competitive advantage by 'getting in on the ground floor' of the business environment created by the new set of rules. Meaning that the rate of change in the past will not be a predictor of future change.

I believe we are at or very close to the tipping point for abandoning carbon. There will always be some holdouts, but I think we are starting to see an extremely rapid acceleration in adoption of carbon free goals by the businesses and industries most affected.

So I repeat: the rate of change in the past will not be a predictor of future change. Stay tuned and see if goals we are now speaking about in terms of happening by 2050 don't start to materialize in time frames closer to 2030 or sooner.