The same day that the Michigan Public Service Commission is hosting the second solar workgroup meeting, discussion is heating up on the coupling of distributed solar and distributed storage. A Greentech Media story – cross posted by Midwest Energy News – explains the business model Intelligent Generation is using to sell solar panels in the Chicagoland area. And a newly released series of reports from Rocky Mountain Institute – The Economics of Grid Defection – expands the body of work. Other geographies, like Germany in particular, are already working on the Virtual Power Plant model.
And an announcement today from GE that they are starting a new Distributed Power Business based on their findings in a white paper entitled The Rise of Distributed Power.
At 5 Lakes Energy, we work to develop the policy and the industry so that the end of “a battery and a solar panel walk into a bar” isn’t a joke in Michigan.