Further to my original post on the hybrid energy conference in New York about a month ago, we’ve now had available the presentations which were made.
What I found most interesting is the consistent message by various presenters that things had to change in how utilities were viewed. In almost every presentation was a consistent theme that the role of utilities was changing and yet they are often stuck with legacy investments that they still are looking to recapture. This is what is causing many jurisdictions to either act slowly or to be counter to progress in the distributed or even off-grid realities they are facing.
One example is Florida where its now illegal to go off-grid. Imaging, a state run by a Republican governor not allowing people to make their own power choices. We know this kind of status won’t last long yet the reality of being tied to utilities that don’t want to move quickly is one of the challenges of the DG industry. Exceptions such as California, New York, Massachusetts, Colorado, are precisely what gives hope that things are changing. Of course, announcements such as Tesla’s are game-changing as well. The amazing amount of orders received already (reservations) by Tesla for its home station is incredible in more than just revenues, it changes landscapes and forces issues to be looked at by a groundswell of popular support.
You can find the presentations made at the conference at http://www.hybridenergyinnovations.com/2015-presentations/ for further reference. Conference presenters were kind enough to share this with the public and I believe its a great wealth of thought and information. The conference organizers did a great job of bringing a variety of presenters to the event and it was obvious by how attentive all of the attendees were to the presentations.