The need for energy in the United States is growing with the rise of artificial intelligence data centers, the expansion of domestic manufacturing, and the electrification of the transportation system. As a result, state legislatures across the geographic and political spectrum are looking for innovative ways to alleviate pressure on the grid. Increasingly, they are turning to distributed energy resources (DERs) as a solution.
Demand for energy is increasing across the U.S. To meet these growing needs and support the power grid, states are embracing innovative policies to advance distributed energy resources (DERs)—energy generation and storage technologies such as rooftop solar, battery storage, smart appliances, and community solar, which are shared solar projects that give subscribing customers credits on their on their electricity bills. These policies enable broader consumer access to DERs, improve energy affordability and reliability, and provide greater support for communities’ energy needs.
The U.S. power grid is under increasing pressure because of aging infrastructure, severe weather events, the rapid growth of data centers and domestic manufacturing, and a lack of adequate transmission capacity that has left urgently needed new electricity generation projects unable to connect to the grid.
To help meet the ever-rising demand for energy in the U.S., policymakers, regulators, and utilities should look to distributed energy resources (DERs) as a bigger part of the solution. According to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, DERs “are small, modular, energy generation and storage technologies that provide electric capacity or energy”—sources such as solar panels on roofs, batteries, electric vehicles, heat pumps, small wind turbines, and even smart thermostats. DERs, which are typically installed where the electricity is needed—a home, business, or industrial site—can lower energy costs, reduce pollution, and help communities keep the lights on during grid outages, among other benefits.
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