Distributed Generation: Cleaner, Cheaper, Stronger

Distributed energy resources allow electricity to be generated closer to where it is used, protecting businesses and institutions from unexpected outages caused by natural disasters and other disruptions. The U.S. national laboratories as well as public-private partnerships provide financial resources and access to research facilities to foster innovations to modernize the power sector from a 100-year-old centralized system to one that incorporates disparate clean technologies such as microgrids, batteries, and energy smart tools. These investments and the resulting new products and capabilities decrease costs, improve grid reliability, reduce emissions, and offer consumers more options.  

This series, Distributed Generation: Cleaner, Cheaper, Stronger, explores the evolving nature of the U.S. electric grid and the role of specific technologies in modernizing the power generating system. Check back regularly for new resources and in-depth analyses of the technologies and policies driving this transformation.


Report

America’s Electric Grid: Growing Cleaner, Cheaper and Stronger

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Report

Electricity is illuminating, but its generation, transmission, and distribution have long been opaque. Cleaner, Cheaper, Stronger: Industrial Efficiency in the Changing Utility Landscape reports on how the once static utility industry is becoming a dynamic and transformative opportunity for the nation’s economic, environmental, and energy future.

Issue Brief

Energy Storage Backs Up Power Supply

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Issue Brief

Energy storage technologies encourage adoption of renewable energy by addressing generation variation resulting from weather conditions. They also aid local utilities by providing an array of grid-balancing services, such as peak shifting—shifting grid usage by consumers from periods of high demand to less intensive times—and backup power supplies. These characteristics support a cleaner and more reliable electric system and present an important market opportunity for the clean energy economy.

Issue Brief

The Smart Grid: How Energy Technology Is Evolving

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Issue Brief

Energy smart technologies are products and services that increase the connection and dialogue between electricity producers and end users. They are the heart of a smart grid—a combination of parts plus a process for using information and communication technologies to integrate the components of each electric system—and are contributing to one of the first major foundational changes to the U.S. power system since its inception a century ago. The growth of this market presents a critical opportunity for generators and end users across a vast array of industries to develop new products and improve efficiency and resiliency in the evolving grid.

Issue Brief

Why (and How) Microgrid Technology Is a Good Power Source

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Issue Brief

Microgrids are small groupings of interconnected power generation and control technologies that can operate within or independent of a central grid, mitigating disturbances and increasing system reliability. By enabling the integration of distributed resources such as wind and solar, these systems can be more flexible than traditional grids. This market presents a new and important opportunity for end users, generators, and planners to provide increased efficiency and resiliency in the evolving grid.

Additional Resources