This is an excerpt of an article originally published at Utility Dive, and can be read in its entirety there.
Grid operators should allow distributed resources and demand response to be priced for their unique attributes in organized markets
In 2015, the U.S. advanced energy industry grew to $200 billion, up 29% since 2011. This is a result of ever-improving economics and performance. Demand side resources like energy efficiency and demand response are already more cost-effective than building new power plants, and generation technologies like wind and solar continue to see precipitous drops in costs.