Energy Grid of the Future

By Rohan Jakhete

The rise of distributed energy resources (DERs), small-scale energy resources such as solar panels, small wind turbines, or combined-heat-and-power (CHP) units, show promise to accelerate our progress to the “energy grid of the future”. Some DERs store energy like batteries or thermal storage whereas others monitor and manage energy, like smart thermostats and smart meters.

Integrating DERs into our grid requires progress in both the private and public sectors. In the private sector, startups which develop new technology and services are essential to maximizing the use of DERs.

For example, companies like Google Nest and Honeywell make smart meters that optimize energy use within the home. A few years ago, I also built a startup in the smart meter and home energy market, called MESI (Modern Energy Solutions Industries) LLC. Our product automatically turned off electric water heaters from anywhere in the world to save energy – similar to a Nest Learning Thermostat.

However, a common problem with clean-tech startups is creating substantial incentives for their products. Getting people excited about clean energy is difficult enough – how do you create a viable business model in this space? Generally, the desire to buy a product is motivated from compliance or savings. The average homeowner likely won’t have compliance motivations, so creating incentives so customers will voluntarily buy products from clean energy startups needs to be the goal.

One way to do this is through economic and time-saving incentives. The product should save the customer money, save time, and importantly, reduce carbon emissions and optimize the use of renewables. Whether it’s developing smart charging stations for enabling vehicle-to-grid on electric vehicles or making smart meters for water heaters, considering economic incentives for the average homeowner becomes crucial if we want to accelerate our progress to the “energy grid of the future.”