Here’s to disruption.Ībout the author: Steven Moffitt is the president of Distributed Energy Resources within NRG Business Solutions. The energy future certainly isn’t what it used to be. That’s a true path forward we can all chart and benefit from together. Rapid energy technology advancement and the search for solutions create fertile ground for collaboration. ![]() And, if you do business in a regulated state, work with your public and business leaders and energy regulators to encourage smart policies and competition for an innovative electricity market. Organizations should partner with experts to get the best insights on trends, block out noise and execute a smart energy management strategy. As these technologies improve, it gets easier to address risk, budget outcomes and larger sustainability initiatives. These topics deserve their own separate commentary, but together they will provide companies with the flexibility to adapt energy strategies to market conditions in real time. We need smart people working on asset management software, big data, analytics, machine learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity. The electricity industry’s challenge lies in how to manage this emerging hybrid grid comprising thousands of distributed resources. This helps reduce grid stress so both the customer and provider capture energy savings, and lets renewable energy maintain its value despite its intermittent nature. We install natural gas backup generators on a customer’s site and, during high grid demand, remotely activate that generator to power the customer’s operations. Technology we call asset-backed demand response. NRG, for one, offers an example: a new version of distributed energy Here again, disruption delivers better solutions. ![]() Mission-critical companies need uninterruptable power to protect against grid outages and natural disasters. Let’s also remember the importance of resilient electricity. These elements help foster distributed energy technologies, which is a key to helping sustainable energy thrive. Enhancements arise when electric power markets let competition deliver solutions that are flexible and affordable–and good for the environment. This is where disruption takes hold, and the powerful possibilities that come with it. And, since the sun doesn’t always shine and wind doesn’t always blow, we must balance these intermittent resources for a more responsive, diverse and dynamic grid–one we can flexibly manage to support everyone’s power needs, unique demands and cost-conscious constraints. Energy Information Administration forecasts near seven percent growth in commercial and industrial energy demand between now and 2022.Īlong with greater demand, the large customers’ energy needs have become more complex. Simply put, our businesses and industries want more energy. While embracing cleaner energy is important, companies and organizations must appreciate that solar panels and wind turbines alone won’t get us to a sustainable energy future, and rising demand is the primary consideration. Just in time, too, as currently 135 companies belong to RE100, an organization of the world’s most influential corporations committed to 100 percent renewable energy. As costs for renewable and sustainable solutions fall, bigger, better and more beneficial energy possibilities emerge. Indeed, as more companies pursue cleaner, more reliable energy, new approaches can make both of these goals a reality. With new technologies, this old approach has lost its advantage. In the past, when utilities needed more energy, the answer was always the same: build another big traditional-generation power plant, the transmission lines to go with it, then pass the costs to customers.
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