When most of the professionals in our industry were coming up and making their way to leadership positions, the landscape of the utility industry looked pretty uniform: centralized power generation at scale that would then be transported to end use many miles away. Thanks to the advent of new technologies that paradigm has outright shifted and distributed energy has become just as critical as central power plants.
From batteries to small- and large-scale renewable generation to smart meters to digital technologies, we're truly living in a new utility industry compared with our predecessors. In many ways, though, the business of utilities has been slow to truly adopt and embrace this new normal. Part of that comes from inertia and an old way of thinking, part of it comes from the challenge of operating new technologies amid a legacy system, and part of it comes from the need for further education and sharing.
It's that last part that we think the Energy Central Community will continue to be critical for: sharing lessons learned, overcoming common roadblocks, and elevating our industry as a whole via the communication and education opportunities we have in front of us. And specifically, that's why Energy Central has decided to dedicate our June Special Issue to "Distributed Energy Resources and Management Systems."
We want to hear from you! We are seeking stories, white papers and case studies from our community for this Special Issue Edition. We are especially looking for insights on the following topics: Renewables, Virtual Power Plants, Energy Storage, Microgrids, & More.
Our Special Issues present a unique opportunity for you to share your experiences with peers in the industry and perhaps even help kickstart conversations that help you and others uncover new potential solutions and opportunities to areas of the business management side of the utility that you may be overlooking.
Below are a few topic prompt ideas to get you started:
- What has your selection process looked like for new hardware and software that's enabling the shift to distributed energy?
- What pain points are you still worried about as this shift towards more decentralized resources moves forward?
- What public policies would you like to see support the future distributed energy systems?
- What recent successes have you had in your shift towards DERs from which your fellow utility professional can learn?
With your submission to the June 2022 Special Issue on 'Distributed Energy Resources and Management Systems,' we invite you to consider the list of topics and topic prompt above and participate in the group knowledge sharing and brainstorming process only available via the Energy Central Community.
How you can Participate:
For Professionals who work for a Utility, IPP, RTO, or Government Agency
We're inviting submissions from experts and leaders who have expertise in our Special Issue topic. This is an opportunity to share with your fellow community members your hands-on experiences and lessons learned, as well as predictions for the coming years.
*For professionals who work for utilities, IPPs, RTOs, or government agencies, submission is free. See below for details on how to submit an article and for deadlines.
Invitation for Solution Providers and Industry Vendors to Get Involved:
This Special Issue is a great way to share your insights and message with the power industry. To learn how you can contribute an article or become an official content sponsor of this special issue, please get in touch with a client representative at [email protected] or Download our Product Guide now for more information.
Instructions for Participation:
Send your submissions to [email protected] with the subject ‘Distributed Energy Resources' If you need feedback on your submission idea, feel free to send questions or even an abstract to the same email address. We are looking for more in-depth articles on this subject (5-10 paragraphs)- a little more than what you would typically share as part of a community blog post.
- Abstract due date (optional): June 10, 2022
- Final submissions due date: June 17, 2022
- Issue deployment date: June 30, 2022
To learn more about our Special Issue Article Guidelines and Review Process, follow this link.