Insights and Resources

As more U.S. states offer incentives for renewable energy investment and costs for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels continue to decrease, it seems utility-scale battery energy storage is positioned to take charge of the next renewables revolution.

Few things represent the dynamic and decentralized nature of the power market like distributed energy resources (DER). These advanced decentralized electric grid technologies, which generate electricity at or near their point of use, illustrate a major shift in the marketplace as ratepayers scrutinize their consumption habits and accelerate the search for affordable, resilient, and sustainable power.

As advanced technologies and new opportunities continue to improve our operational efficiency, productivity and resiliency across the electric utility sector, electric utility leaders are growing increasingly aware that with heightened opportunities comes heightened risk, particularly when increased connectivity through digitization of operational devices brings new vulnerabilities into play.

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) genie is not going back into the bottle; leaving the world to contemplate how best to manage this most potent, yet controversial, tool. The water sector’s response has many parallels with reactions to AI more broadly: we are certain AI has benefits, are less sure about how to realize them, and wary of unintended consequences.

Utilities have traditionally followed load, investing in assets when demand required it. Today’s wholesale energy markets are starting to push them in a different direction. Instead of load, utilities are being forced to follow their customers, and load doesn’t always come along with them. That’s leading to a wholesale energy market that pivots on decentralized energy production. Essentially, wholesale energy markets are becoming as decentralized and disaggregated as generation itself.

Imagine customers, third parties and even utilities participating in a market in which their investments in renewable energy and other distributed energy resources could be monetized. The uptake of clean energy would dramatically accelerate, creating new opportunities for innovation and an open, inclusive energy economy. It’s the next evolutionary step to profoundly transforming the energy industry into something where everyone can win and it’s happening now.

It’s the classic chicken-or-the-egg question. If attempting to revolutionize the auto industry, do you introduce the car or the supporting infrastructure first? For Joel Ewanick, the answer was obvious – get the infrastructure in place.

Over the past few years, low commodity prices have forced mining companies to take a hard look at how they run their operations – particularly their use of energy and water.

As electrification of fleets emerges as the next frontier in the EV market, Joe Halso — legal counsel for the environmental advocate Sierra Club — lauded Minnesota regulators and electric utility giant Xcel Energy for refusing to stay on the sidelines.

As energy costs continue to rise and more states adopt regulatory incentives and disincentives that drive large-scale sustainability and efficiency efforts, it is expected that utilities will become more aggressive in their approach to managing energy. 

Data is power. And once operators of commercial and industrial properties have the technology to track their daily use of electricity—down to the minute—they’re going to use the literal form of power only when they need it. For electric utilities, that spells less revenue. Even less when those customers start to, or increase, generation of their own power.

From scarcity in South Africa to flood control in the United States, many believe that a smarter infrastructure, with data at its core, will be key to overcoming the many threats to our water supply.

The electric grid is undergoing the most significant transformation in its history, with digital technologies and devices being pushed to the edge to support dynamic, two-way power requirements in real-time while also ensuring reliability, efficiency and security.

As if the persistent low-price environment wasn’t enough, rampant natural gas production in the Appalachian and Permian Basins is ramping up concern that pipeline take-away capacity can’t keep up.

There's huge potential to reap the benefits of the digital water future, no matter what stage of the journey you are on. Leading figures in the industry discuss the possibilities and the pitfalls.

To effectively map out the current and future states of power delivery, it’s imperative to discuss what the landscape looked like in the past. Understanding the evolution of any industry typically requires a healthy dose of historical context, and making sense of today’s energy grid is no exception.

Recent water shortages around the world have highlighted how quickly water is becoming the the most irreplaceable resource on our planet. Facing new water challenges, governments and jurisidictions are working across all sectors – agriculture, technology, industrial, commercial – to protect the future of water and ensure its long-term viability.