| For a century, the power sector has been used to big-time solutions. Utilities built huge generating stations and miles of transmission to serve thousands of people at a time.
But to meet future needs, it could be that the biggest opportunities come in small packages.
As distributed technologies like rooftop solar and battery storage spread, aggregating their capabilities together offers utilities the opportunity to meet bulk power sector needs with an array of smaller resources. This could help defer or replace more costly investment in traditional grid infrastructure, as well as help integrate renewable resources and decrease sector emissions.
But getting from the grid of the past to the multi-resource network of the future is no easy task. It requires not just managing the impacts of countless new resources on utility distribution systems, but designing the software products and market models to allow the new aggregations to meet grid needs.
As in most sectors, DER technology has moved faster than regulations, and today aggregations are largely limited to acting as demand management resources in the nation’s wholesale markets. How can the nascent industry graduate to full-fledged grid resources? That’s what we explore in this Spotlight.
Have some news on DER aggregation or see something we missed? Let us know with the Twitter or email links below.
 Gavin Bade
Editor, Utility Dive
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 News and Trends
| Feature Story Demand response programs are one way utilities are optimizing aggregated distributed energy resources. |
| Feature Story Wholesale market changes and new regulatory frameworks are key to expanding the sector. |
Demand response alone is not enough to keep our grids up and running reliably any more. Learn why and how DERs are helping. Read more.
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| Feature Story Distributed resources can't yet compete like traditional generators in U.S. power markets, but demand response products allow them a foot in the door. |
| Feature Story Utilities and DER providers have divergent opinions on how the aggregation of distributed resources will develop, according to a recent GTM survey. |
| Feature Story Grouping customer-sited batteries can deliver the same benefits as grid-scale storage, DNV-GL says. |
| Feature Story The state's utilities, DER providers and CAISO outline a new plan that would streamline communications between transmission and distribution operators and DER developers. |
| Feature Story PG&E wants a distributed resource management system that can interact with any vendor's software. |
| Feature Story Blockchain-based power trading on the distribution system has captured the imagination of many in the power sector — just not the companies at its center. |
Featured Resources | This paper takes looks at criteria for orchestration and management of distributed energy resources, with a focus on helping utilities get the most from the shifting DER paradigm. Learn more. |
| A recent survey of utilities uncovers interesting insights on where the industry is heading when it comes to leveraging DERs to keep the grid in balance. Read the results. |
| Leveraging distributed energy resource management software to stack the values of energy storage plus load can cut battery project payback in half. Learn more. |
What We're Reading
 Ars Technica |
 Greentech Media |
 RTO Insider |
 Daily Energy Insider |
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