Perspectives
DERs role in a more reliable, sustainable and resilient power system
Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and Distributed Generation (DG) are often used interchangeably. DERs, however, are a broader category, encompassing assets that generate electricity and demand-side management (DSM) programs, protocols, and tools. This paper will focus on the outlook for DG/DERs in an environment where projected load growth is suddenly robust and where the need for more generation capacity is unavoidable.
DG/DERs have historically recognized advantages and concerns. These have led to DG playing a complementary role to centralized power generation. However, new conditions in many power markets are raising the possibility that DG may play a more prominent role. This paper will review pros/cons attributed to DG/DERs, discuss new conditions prevailing in power markets, and assess the likelihood that DG’s role may grow in the near term and the post-2030 era.
A systematic review of DG’s traditional benefits and drawbacks reveals why it has largely been a niche play complementary to central power generation. DG offers power users several advantages, including added resiliency in the face of grid outages, the ability to adopt types of generation suited to local conditions, and the ability to progress low-carbon solutions faster than centralized providers. However, DG generally has not overcome a cost disadvantage rooted in its smaller scale capacity versus centralized power. When the DG in question is wind or solar, their intermittency can complicate grid integrity and reliability. Thus, despite considerable government subsidy support, DG today provides less than 10% of U.S. generation nationwide.