Kyle Richmond-Crosset

When it comes to distributed energy resources, the future is here, with more solar arrays on rooftops, more electric vehicles on the streets, and more so-called controllable assets like water heaters inside buildings. The reason for the growing popularity of these resources, DERs for short, is no mystery: They can reduce utility bills for residents and businesses, help communities meet climate and equity goals and make the electric grid more resilient.

Community solar projects, which allow participating subscribers to receive credits on their utility bills, can be powerful forces for fighting both climate change and inequity. While helping local governments achieve their climate goals, they can provide significant benefits for low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities, including lower bills and energy burdens for subscribers, tax benefits, jobs and access to solar for those who can’t install rooftop solar panels.

This paper discusses how U.S. local governments can make money and derive benefits from emerging market opportunities related to distributed energy resources (DERs), like rooftop solar, electric vehicles and water heaters, in the context of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order Number 2222.