Energy Changemakers

Grid decentralization is the next phase of a long-running market evolution we’ve been navigating for decades, says Pat Wood III, former FERC chairman, in a recent conversation I had with him and Audrey Zibelman, former CEO of PJM and head energy regulator for NY. As Pat tells it, the industry has already undergone one major transformation: the opening of the bulk power system that allowed large generators and wholesale marketers to compete. What’s happening now is simply finishing that job—extending the same competitive logic down to the business and household. And it's a job, he says, we need to get going on. That means shaking off political strife. “Electrons don’t vote. They’re not red or blue. And they work the same everywhere,” Zibelman adds. https://lnkd.in/eUf8z7G6 Audrey Zibelman Pat Wood, III Matthew Herbert

Microgrids Are a Goldmine for Grid Operators — They Just Don’t Know It Yet Microgrids, it turns out, do more than we previously thought. They've always been valued based on their ability to keep the lights on when the grid is down. But they also provide previously undocumented benefits to the larger electric grid, according to a new report by the Schneider Electric Research Institute. They inadvertently give the grid "headroom" or extra capacity, which is crucial as it faces growing strain. Microgrids do this by reshaping when and how a building draws power, reducing its need to import power from the grid in real time. What's most interesting is that this extra capacity comes at no charge to the grid or its ratepayers. The building owner, who paid for the microgrid, did so to gain resilience, cost savings or sustainability. The grid benefit is a byproduct. Regulators can fine-tune this grid benefit with the right tariffs. Take a look at how this report documents the grid benefits of microgrids. More here. https://lnkd.in/eN-t7T9M

Balcony Solar Bill Becomes Law in Maine Maine Gov. Janet Mills this week signed into law a bill (LD 1730) that adds the state to the small but growing list of those that make it easier for consumers to install balcony or plug-in solar. Senator Grohoski of Hancock County sponsored the bill, which allows households to install 420-1200 watt solar and battery systems without getting prior utility approval, an interconnection agreement, or paying any fee to the utility. (Note: The systems can’t be used by owners for net metering.) Utah became the first state to pass a similar bill last year. Virginia lawmakers have also passed a balcony solar bill that awaits Gov. Abigail Spanberger's signature, expected this month. Meanwhile, at least half of the states are considering similar bills or proposals that would allow households to install these small solar systems without a lot of red tape. Balcony solar is about to break open a new front in distributed energy. Don’t miss what happens next. Get ahead of the trend in next week’s Energy Changemakers Newsletter—free. Subscribe here. https://lnkd.in/gP4sAYVe

Almost Bankrupt, This Electric Co-op Saved Itself by Ditching the Status Quo Utilities don’t change easily. They’re not built to. But what happens when the status quo becomes the real risk? I took a close look at Rayburn Electric Cooperative—and it’s one of the clearest examples I’ve seen of a utility breaking its own rules to survive. After Winter Storm Uri left it facing roughly $1 billion in power costs, Rayburn didn’t just absorb the blow or pass it along. It rewrote the playbook—helping change Texas law so co-ops could access securitization. But the bigger story isn’t survival. It’s mindset. Rayburn flattened decision-making, pushed authority down, and moved with a kind of speed utilities aren’t known for. As CEO David Naylor put it: don’t debate “Chevy or Ford”—just buy the truck.' Here's my article: https://lnkd.in/eic9pzVr

Relationships are getting weird in the power industry. The AI build-out is accomplishing what a decade of advocacy couldn’t: turning utilities and distributed energy companies into collaborators. Those who went to war with utilities during the net metering battles of the mid-2010s are now sitting across the table from them, being asked how distributed energy can help utilities meet the challenge of serving growing demand for their product. Marcos Krapels has a front row seat to the changing relationships. A veteran of SolarCity — which was one of the fiercest combatants in the net metering wars with utilities — Krapels is now a senior executive at microinverter company Enphase Energy. Here's what he told me is happening in meetings between utilities and distributed energy companies. https://lnkd.in/e56DAqJ3

Headlines about U.S. manufacturing are all over the map. Depending on which data you cite, the country is either in the midst of an industrial revival or still waiting for one to materialize. Is onshoring really happening? If so, how much? And what, exactly, is getting in the way of bringing more industry to the United States? These questions matter to the distributed energy sector because manufacturers are an important customer. So, rather than get lost in competing statistics, I decided to talk to someone with a front-row seat to the decisions manufacturers must make when choosing where to locate. https://lnkd.in/eUENu8nM

“Bridge to power” and “bring your own capacity” are quickly becoming the new language of distributed energy. What began as a workaround for data centers stuck in interconnection queues is turning into something bigger: a new opening for decentralized energy. In the process, distributed energy is moving from a niche resilience play to a key solution for one of the grid’s biggest emerging challenges. What’s striking is how fast the market is evolving. Even the language is changing, with some companies moving away from the term “microgrid” in favor of “onsite energy” — a sign that these systems are growing in scale. That doesn’t mean the market is settled. Far from it. Companies are still testing what's financeable, scalable and profitable. In some ways, this feels like the next inflection point for the sector. Superstorm Sandy helped launch the microgrid industry by exposing the need for energy resilience. Data centers may do something similar by exposing the need for speed. If so, distributed energy won’t just benefit from this shift — it could emerge from it with a much larger role in how power gets built, delivered and valued. https://lnkd.in/e4ddk_JH

Community microgrids tend to fail when engineers lead, and communities are expected to follow. Flip that model—let communities lead, and engineers respond—and projects move faster and face fewer obstructions. That's what Markus Virta, co-founder of Cascadia Renewables, learned while developing what has proven to be a successful community microgrid development company in Washington State. Traditionally, microgrids are designed from the top down. Developers identify a site, size the system, and then look for a use case to justify it—often centered on critical infrastructure like fire stations or emergency shelters. But that approach can miss something fundamental: where people actually go during a crisis. It’s not always where developers expect. Learn about Markus' successful formula here. https://lnkd.in/eBJzcZ-Q Markus Virta Cascadia Renewables

A Second Act for Distributed Wind Distributed wind has become something of a third wheel in recent years to the solar/storage marriage that dominates local energy projects. But could new designs and market conditions offer them a second act in virtual power plants, microgrids and rural energy systems? We released a bonus podcast this week that explores this issue with energy journalist and analyst Peter Asmus, who recently keynoted the Distributed Wind 2026 in Arlington, VA, hosted by the Distributed Wind Energy Association. https://lnkd.in/gXFJ7qu6

Why the future of grid stability runs directly through your living room: a conversation with Ben Brown, CEO of Renew Home Ben Brown, https://lnkd.in/gs9ePMBS