DERVOS 2026

DER Task Force's DERVOS 2026

The Big Theme: Everything is DER

Five years ago, distributed energy was still treated like a sideshow to the “real” power system. Today, it increasingly is the only viable solution to the myriad woes facing the power system. Data centers are building their own massive behind-the-meter energy systems. Companies are turning flexible load into hundreds of megawatts of capacity. Batteries and solar are becoming plug-and-play consumer products. Utilities and grid operators are procuring distributed capacity at scale. And as interconnection queues, transmission planning, and institutional decision-making become increasingly sclerotic, customers are simply deciding to take care of their own power needs.

That’s what the DER Task Force means by Everything is DER: not that everything is small, or even literally “distributed,” but that the center of gravity is shifting toward energy resources that are closer to load and controlled by those who need the power. Sometimes that shift is bottoms-up, sometimes it’s centrally planned, but either way, DERs aren’t the sideshow anymore. They’re the main event.

Key Topics:

1. Demystifying AI & Data Centers - What is going on in these things? How much of this power demand is real? Will it keep growing exponentially or is it near the top? How is this reinventing infrastructure development? Is BYOP the path for industrial demand growth?

2. SolarMaxxing - A new era of solar is upon us. Industrial-scale solar and battery project designs are being reinvented to serve on-site loads, at high reliability, and quickly. Will we see $3/w 24/7 FIRM solar + storage in the near future, as Jesse Peltan prophesies?

3. Massive Top-Down DERs Deployment - Whether it’s vertically integrated IOUs placing batteries throughout the distribution grid, hyperscalers contracting to deploy hundreds of MWs into ISO markets, or utilities working with residential battery suppliers to free up capacity in their system, it’s clear that DERs no longer need to be sold one at a time. There’s a centralized path to scale, but does it align with distributed principles?

4. The Wide-Open State of Power System Planning, Regulation, and Expansion - Has the “deregulated” power system shown it is able to grow? Or is a return to the vertically integrated IOU required? Are interconnection processes doomed to perpetual sclerosis? Will governors continue to assert their will as the grid becomes one of the largest election issues and utilities wind up in the crosshairs of the media? More than ever in our lifetimes, it feels like just about anything is possible over the next few years. Under the pressure of massive demand, our institutions are failing and the form of response most likely is uncertain. Whatever happens, this is the moment that will be written about in the history books.