Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Roadmap

A research roadmap that identifies, describes, and prioritizes key RDD&D needs to enable high penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs).

Guidehouse Inc.

Recipient

San Francisco, CA

Recipient Location

beenhere

$471,841

Amount Spent

closed

Completed

Project Status

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Project Result

The California Energy Commission (CEC) staff conducted a workshop to summarize the DER Research Roadmap in May 2020. The roadmap identified key research priorities needed to enable high penetrations of DERs. The workshop provided an overview of the project approach, reviewed the screening and prioritization process, and presented the project results. Guidehouse Inc. completed and submitted the final roadmap report in September 2020.

View Final Report

The Issue

To help ensure that EPIC funds are strategically focused to make advancements on the most significant technological challenges, new analysis is needed that identifies and prioritizes RDD&D gaps to achieving California's goals for integrating high penetrations of distributed energy resources (DERs). There is a need for assessing the technology cost and performance of emerging technologies that best facilitate greater penetration of DERs into the grid, as well as for identifying the data needed to advance DER policy and increase the availability of financing.

Project Innovation

This project developed, in consultation with stakeholders and subject matter experts, a research roadmap that identified, described, and prioritized key RDD&D needs to enable high penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs). The roadmap assessed the current status of DERs in California; assessed current research efforts, including those at the state and federal level; identified performance and cost targets and research needs; estimated rates for technology performance improvement, cost reduction, and adoption; developed a methodology for prioritizing research needs in the near-, mid-, and long-term; apply the methodology to research gaps to prioritize near, mid-, and long-term research needs; and identified critical cost and performance indicators of success and methodology to estimate research benefits. Finally, the roadmap identified the type and amount of data needed to advance DER policy and availability of DER financing, particularly for low-income customers; conducted public workshops; and documented the roadmapping process.

Project Goals

Assess the current status of DER within California, including technology cost and performance trends.

Assess current research efforts, including those at the state and federal level, that are addressing these knowledge gaps.

Identify performance and cost targets, and identify research needs to achieve those targets that may be addressed by EPIC.

Project Benefits

This project informed the strategic and effective targeting of future EPIC investments to maximize the use of public research and development investments. The resulting roadmap identified and prioritized research on the most critical RDD&D technology gaps to enable transformation of the grid to increasingly integrate DERs. The results of the analysis provided further detail in the integration into utility planning and operational policies that are critical to the technological improvements and physical connections to the grid.