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Grid Evolution and the Business Ecosystem
Author(s) -
Caldwell John
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
climate and energy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2692-3823
pISSN - 2692-3831
DOI - 10.1002/gas.22197
Subject(s) - business model , transformational leadership , smart grid , electricity , modernization theory , popularity , business , grid , net metering , industrial organization , renewable energy , marketing , distributed generation , public relations , economics , engineering , political science , economic growth , geometry , mathematics , law , electrical engineering
For at least the past decade, a popular topic of discussion in the electricity industry has been change. It has become a regular practice at industry conferences to feature one or more sessions focused on “grid modernization” at which the potential impact of technological innovations and new business or regulatory paradigms is discussed, and it is usually implied in these sessions that electricity service is on the cusp of some fundamental transformation. In recent years, conferences have begun to be held that are exclusively devoted to the subject of transformation in the electricity sector. Various potential causes for such a transformation have been identified, including the continued governmental push at both the state and federal levels in earlier years for cleaner energy, the declining cost of solar and wind power and storage technologies, the growing popularity of customer‐owned “distributed resources,” and increasing concerns about grid “resiliency.” Legislative and/or regulatory initiatives introduced in several states have explored new regulatory models that might support if not create the impetus for fundamental change. But while at least some of these trends are potentially transformational, it has been a continuing challenge to develop a coherent vision of what the “grid of the future” might look like.