Ani Backa, U.S. Director of Utilities, Regulatory, & Legislative Initiatives for sonnen, Talks DERs (1 of 3)

Virtual Peaker had the distinct pleasure to talk recently with Ani Backa, U.S. Director, Utilities, Regulatory, and Legislative Initiatives at Sonnen/eServices sonnen Global, about the outlook for distributed energy resources (DERs). Ani acknowledged that COVID-19 has fundamentally altered the landscape and that her responses are driven by two pandemic-related themes: uncertainty, and no end date. Virtual Peaker’s discussion with Ani Backa is divided into three sections. The first appears below.

What Do You See As the Biggest Challenges and Opportunities in the DER Space?

Before COVID-19, I would have pointed out that the biggest challenge in the DER space was an alignment of innovation with the regulatory and legislative constructs to ensure greater market penetration. That’s because the two seemed to be misaligned.

Now, the biggest challenge with DERs is a slowed-down world economy with its ripple effects on supply chain slowdown, and market upset—the unpredictable highs and lows in the market seem to grow increasingly more unpredictable—as well as consumer attrition due to social distancing.

From an implementation perspective, battery systems require the kind of permitting and inspection oversight that is not yet set up to be done entirely online. But there are opportunities in this space, especially when we look at battery storage as a resiliency COMPONENT of the utility IRP/grid at large.

Examples in Action

An example here is the striking and concerning statistic from Con Ed when the company reported that more than 170 employees had COVID-19. With field workers unable to tend to the grid, residential battery storage provides a safe haven and mitigating tool in the event of power outages. (Though COVID-19 has pressed “pause” on many of our daily activities, it has not stopped weather or grid events from occurring.)

Additionally, we are all seeing the statistics regarding how environmental pollution is slowing down while we try to flatten the curve of the pandemic. DERs have an opportunity to step up in a major way as life resumes. Unlike COVID-19, DERs are here to stay. So, I believe the opportunities with battery storage right now are both in securing and cleaning the grid.

Jump to Part Two

About The Author

Jeff is the VP of Sales for Virtual Peaker. He has spent his entire career in energy and data analytics where he has led teams working with utilities, government agencies, oil and gas companies, and financial institutions to help drive growth strategy and manage energy transition. He has worked with a team of analysts in developing an integrated resource plan (IRP) for a major U.S. vertically integrated utility, with a focus on load forecasting, locational marginal pricing (LMP) prediction, and long-term grid reliability. He has also managed the development of marketing and growth strategy for one of the four largest global oil and gas firms with a focus on the long-term viability of the Asian market-entry strategy.

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