Three Initiatives That Fit and Complement
Greg Wikler is a board member of the Association of Energy Services Professionals. He is a director of Navigant Consulting’s Energy practice, where he focuses on energy efficiency, demand response and smart grid programs. He is an energy economist with nearly thirty years of experience in this field.
Several megatrends are now driving the growth of distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar and energy storage systems. There’s also demand for greater customer choice and more sustainable energy options. And increased policies and regulations to reduce carbon emissions.
Other megatrends include the search for greater shareholder value through new ventures, and regionalization of energy resources. The replacement of old infrastructure, and transition toward an increasingly decentralized and smarter power grid architecture, plays an important role.
At the same time, we have energy efficiency and demand response programs and policies that have been in place for decades. These are now in need of transformation in their own right. They need to align with the broader purpose brought about by the rapid deployment of distributed resources.
Electric systems are becoming operationally more complex due in part to growing distributed resources. Utility planners and operators are increasingly looking to various resources. These can be deployed on a time-specific basis to help alleviate constraints.
One vision appears to be emerging in high-growth distributed resource states such as California, New York and Hawaii. Energy efficiency and demand response are not just work-horse resources. Rather, they are facilitators for optimal deployment.