Distributed Energy Resources (DER) by Barney L. Capehart, PhD, CEM, College of Engineering, University of Florida, provides a helpful overview of DER in 2016. There are emerging, high-impact breakthroughs in power conversion, storage and microgrids that will add significant momentum to the implementation of DER is the near term. 

DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES – NEW ENERGY SOLUTIONS FOR THE 21st CENTURY

The production, storage and timely dispatch of power, at or near the point of use, and the advanced and emerging technologies that are enabling it, are rapidly changing the central power generation, transmission and distribution paradigms of the last 100 years. Key attributes most often include lower capital costs, higher net efficiencies, less infrastructure, greater energy surety, and improved environmental impact.

Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) include power generation, storage and intelligent dispatch. DER solutions are rapidly growing and are projected to provide the majority of energy solutions required to meet the coming large-scale energy demands of the 21st century.