Dive Summary:
- The U.S. electrical grid, the largest machine on earth, is on a road to perdition, argues CEO of NRG Energy David Crane. The number one catalyst for this decline? Distributed energy, Crane explains.
- A combination of distributed generation, smart technology, deregulation and cheap natural gas will push the traditional utility business over the cliff as a confluence of forces tears away at its revenue. Customers in the West and Northeast especially are realizing “they don’t need the power industry at all,” Crane explains. As a result, "utilities will continue to serve the elderly or the less fortunate, but the rest of the population moves on.”
- Anticipating the fall of the utility system, Crane is changing his game plan. “I’m working for the day the grid is diminished,” he says.
From the article:
“Worldwide revenue from installation of solar power systems will climb to $112 billion a year in 2018, a rise of 44 percent, taking sales away from utilities, according to analysts at Navigant Research, which tracks worldwide clean-energy trends.”