QuickChat: Why DERs and Microgrids are Becoming a Central Component of Grid Modernization

Distributed energy resources (DER) are shifting from being “nice-to-have” backup assets to essential, grid-integrated tools that help utilities handle explosive load growth, modernize the aging grid and improve resiliency, according to Todd Jackson, vice president of corporate development at microgrid and DER developer PowerSecure.

Jackson recently sat down with Rod Walton, managing editor of EnergyTech and Microgrid Knowledge, to discuss the increasingly important role DERs are playing in supporting the utility grid.

For generations, centralized power dominated the conversation across the utility sector. Distributed energy resources, such as solar and battery energy storage systems, were considered outliers.

With the rise of data centers and other large loads, that sentiment has shifted significantly.

Microgrids that can act as DERs —providing both on-site power and system-wide resiliency — are increasingly attractive to utilities when it comes to serving large loads and managing grid modernization and upgrades, Jackson said during the interview. 

“You can't do everything all at once,” he said. However, DERs can defer or delay the expense of grid modernization while the utility prioritizes other areas, he explained.

Shorter interconnection queues for DERs

Interconnection challenges are top of mind for developers and utilities, but Jackson asserted that most utilities have established processes to move smaller DER and microgrid projects through their queues quickly — they are less likely to get bogged down in the months- or years-long queues larger projects face.

“I think the utilities have it right with the DER programs…which helps the with rapid deployment of distributed energy,” he said.

A coordinated approach

Jackson and Walton also discussed environmental and permitting considerations for DERs, the importance of standardized, scalable solutions and the key role battery energy storage plays.

Jackson noted that commercial and industrial (C&I) organizations — many of which are responsible for large loads driving up demand — are now designing, permitting and operating their DERs so they can provide resiliency onsite and serve as a grid resource.

The C&Is are “playing their role in making sure that the grid is as robust as possible, and the utilities and grid operators are accepting of that,” Jackson said. “It's becoming a pretty good marriage of the two working together to solve those ever-evolving grid needs.”

You can watch the full video here.