A recent report from Navigant Research analyzes the market for integrated distributed energy resources (IDER) programs for utilities and energy suppliers. Market forecasts, segmented by program and technology type, extend through 2028 for all world markets.
The report, Integrated DER Programs for Utilities and Energy Suppliers, examines drivers behind the newly developing business models for IDER as well as implementation challenges. The report also provides recommendations for both utilities and suppliers looking to expand their offerings in the evolving IDER space.
Several utility-led pilot programs have explored the potential of DER, controlled in aggregate, to provide valuable grid services. IDER programs actively manage energy through the integration and coordination of one or more of the following: energy efficiency, demand response, distributed generation, energy storage, and electric vehicles (EVs). According to the report, IDER spending is expected to grow more than tenfold over the next decade, totaling almost US$4.8 billion by 2028.
“The rising penetration of renewable resources is making the load flexibility provided by IDER increasingly valuable,” said Brett Feldman, research director with Navigant Research. “Financial and regulatory drivers, like renewables balancing grid services, deferred capital cost, and governmental mandates, are pushing utilities and energy suppliers to explore and implement IDER.”
At the same time, several market barriers remain that need to be addressed to allow IDER to graduate from pilots to larger-scale deployment. Key obstacles include DER performance measurement, regulatory rules that do not allow for DER, DER communication and interoperability, a separation of demand side management (DSM) programs, and different vendors and financing mechanisms for different DER.
An executive summary of the report is available for download here.
