{"id":5179,"date":"2013-10-03T21:19:37","date_gmt":"2013-10-03T21:19:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=5179"},"modified":"2015-12-21T12:45:15","modified_gmt":"2015-12-21T18:45:15","slug":"more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/","title":{"rendered":"More Companies Turning to Distributed Generation \u2013 What Does it Mean for Utilities?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported<\/a> on an initiative at an increasing number of companies nationwide: on-site, or distributed, power generation. There are many reasons for this growing trend in corporate sustainability, along with many ramifications for the prevailing utility model in the United States \u2013 all of which highlight the importance of employing market-based solutions to create a cleaner, smarter, more resilient electric system<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Why Do Companies Unplug?<\/strong><\/p>\n

For companies such as Walmart, increasing the use of distributed, renewable generation is a vital part of larger sustainability goals<\/a>, including increased use of clean energy and a call for safer ingredients used in the products<\/a> the company sells. To be sure, however, even the most altruistic companies would be hard pressed to shift off the power grid without sound economic reasons.<\/p>\n

A confluence of market factors, including tax incentives that spur attractive returns on investment, advances in solar and wind technologies and policies that encourage greater use of and investments in clean energy (like net metering and time-of-use pricing<\/a>), has created an economic environment that makes distributed generation not just a viable option, but often a very attractive one. Further, off-grid power can be an effective way for companies to hedge against outages due to storms or unforeseeable catastrophes, a key idea included in the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What About Utilities?<\/strong><\/p>\n

FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff, speaking in April at a high-level meeting hosted by the Princeton Energy and Environment Corporate Affiliates Program, called the situation \u201ca monumental challenge<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

As distributed generation becomes more common, utilities face unprecedented economic threats, summarized in a blunt report<\/a> from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) earlier this year. NRG Energy CEO David Crane has likened the outlook for utilities to the plight of the U.S. Postal Service, warning of a downward spiral<\/a> where increased distributed power cuts into regulated utility revenue, in turn forcing utilities to raise rates, thereby driving more customers to off-grid generation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Source: Walmart<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What\u2019s Next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking at the same Princeton meeting in April, EDF\u2019s own Mark Brownstein noted that “there is no shortage of academic studies that envision a future of distributed generation and large-scale renewable deployment.” But while distributed generation grows, utilities still look to dominate the power business for years to come. That\u2019s why it is imperative that we keep working with all parties to put the right rules in place for a smarter, more flexible energy system<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A chapter in America\u2019s Power Plan<\/a> suggests that policy can support\u00a0distributed generation though fair economic incentives and clear cost-allocation methods, while moving toward new regulatory and business models for utilities that separate revenues from the amount of electricity sold. We must work toward this new energy paradigm by aligning incentives for utilities and customers, and advocating for new financing mechanisms, such as on-bill repayment<\/a>, to promote clean, distributed energy investments. We must continue to modernize our outdated electric grid to accommodate new, on-site, clean power sources.<\/p>\n

While changes to the existing energy system may be incremental, these types of market-based solutions are the most effective path toward a cleaner, smarter energy future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported on an initiative at an increasing number of companies nationwide: on-site, or distributed, power generation. There are many reasons for this growing trend in corporate sustainability, along with many ramifications for the prevailing utility model in the United States \u2013 all of which highlight the importance of employing …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32987,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[84830,55217,177,27600],"tags":[53016],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-5179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grid-modernization","category-on-bill-repayment-2","category-renewable-energy","category-utilities","tag-edison-electric-institute"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMore Companies Turning to Distributed Generation \u2013 What Does it Mean for Utilities? - Energy Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"More Companies Turning to Distributed Generation \u2013 What Does it Mean for Utilities? - Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported on an initiative at an increasing number of companies nationwide: on-site, or distributed, power generation. There are many reasons for this growing trend in corporate sustainability, along with many ramifications for the prevailing utility model in the United States \u2013 all of which highlight the importance of employing ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-10-03T21:19:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-12-21T18:45:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/10\/Paul-Stinson.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Paul Stinson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Paul Stinson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/03\\\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/03\\\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Paul Stinson\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/aa1261fe280d35ea9406abf557a6bc7e\"},\"headline\":\"More Companies Turning to Distributed Generation \u2013 What Does it Mean for Utilities?\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-10-03T21:19:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-12-21T18:45:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/03\\\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":538,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/03\\\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/Paul-Stinson.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Edison Electric Institute\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Grid Modernization\",\"On-bill repayment\",\"Renewable Energy\",\"Utility Business Models\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/03\\\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/03\\\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/03\\\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\\\/\",\"name\":\"More Companies Turning to Distributed Generation \u2013 What Does it Mean for Utilities? - Energy Exchange\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/03\\\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/03\\\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/Paul-Stinson.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-10-03T21:19:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-12-21T18:45:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/aa1261fe280d35ea9406abf557a6bc7e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/03\\\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/03\\\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/03\\\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/Paul-Stinson.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/38\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/Paul-Stinson.png\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/03\\\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"More Companies Turning to Distributed Generation \u2013 What Does it Mean for Utilities?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/\",\"name\":\"Energy Exchange\",\"description\":\"Accelerating the clean energy revolution\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/aa1261fe280d35ea9406abf557a6bc7e\",\"name\":\"Paul Stinson\",\"description\":\"Program Coordinator Paul is a program coordinator for EDF\u2019s US Climate and Energy program.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.edf.org\\\/blog_author\\\/paul-stinson\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/energyexchange\\\/author\\\/pstinson\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"More Companies Turning to Distributed Generation \u2013 What Does it Mean for Utilities? - Energy Exchange","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"More Companies Turning to Distributed Generation \u2013 What Does it Mean for Utilities? - Energy Exchange","og_description":"Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported on an initiative at an increasing number of companies nationwide: on-site, or distributed, power generation. There are many reasons for this growing trend in corporate sustainability, along with many ramifications for the prevailing utility model in the United States \u2013 all of which highlight the importance of employing ...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/","og_site_name":"Energy Exchange","article_published_time":"2013-10-03T21:19:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-12-21T18:45:15+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/10\/Paul-Stinson.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Paul Stinson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Paul Stinson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/"},"author":{"name":"Paul Stinson","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#\/schema\/person\/aa1261fe280d35ea9406abf557a6bc7e"},"headline":"More Companies Turning to Distributed Generation \u2013 What Does it Mean for Utilities?","datePublished":"2013-10-03T21:19:37+00:00","dateModified":"2015-12-21T18:45:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/"},"wordCount":538,"commentCount":1,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/10\/Paul-Stinson.png","keywords":["Edison Electric Institute"],"articleSection":["Grid Modernization","On-bill repayment","Renewable Energy","Utility Business Models"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/","name":"More Companies Turning to Distributed Generation \u2013 What Does it Mean for Utilities? - Energy Exchange","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/10\/Paul-Stinson.png","datePublished":"2013-10-03T21:19:37+00:00","dateModified":"2015-12-21T18:45:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#\/schema\/person\/aa1261fe280d35ea9406abf557a6bc7e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/10\/Paul-Stinson.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/10\/Paul-Stinson.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/10\/03\/more-companies-turning-to-distributed-generation-what-does-it-mean-for-utilities\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"More Companies Turning to Distributed Generation \u2013 What Does it Mean for Utilities?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/","name":"Energy Exchange","description":"Accelerating the clean energy revolution","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/#\/schema\/person\/aa1261fe280d35ea9406abf557a6bc7e","name":"Paul Stinson","description":"Program Coordinator Paul is a program coordinator for EDF\u2019s US Climate and Energy program.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.edf.org\/blog_author\/paul-stinson"],"url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/author\/pstinson\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32987"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5179\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5179"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=5179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}