DER Task Force September Newsletter

September 2022 Edition

Oct 03, 2022

As you all saw last week, the DER Task Force is excited to support Footprint Project for a second time, this time as they mobilize aid for victims of Hurricane Ian in Florida. Mobile microgrids are an essential part of hurricane response, bringing power to millions in the wake of the storm’s destruction. Please consider donating what you can to Footprint Project as they carry out this critical mission in Florida.
Donate now
New meetup alert! If you’re in or around Washington D.C., the inaugural DER TF DMV meetup is set for October 12th (same day as NYC’s!). In honor of Oktoberfest, the squad will meet-up at Dacha at 5pm for drinks and conversation. We recommend you join the #dmv channel in Slack for day-of logistics and to stay on top of all the local DER Task Force happenings. BIG SHOUT to Ben Shell for organizing!
As mentioned above, the NYC meetup is coming up on October 12th! Per usual, we’ll be meeting up at Urban Energy in Brooklyn at 6:30pm. Don’t forget to RSVP if you plan to attend.
The countdown to DERTFest has begun — we are officially 40 days out from the the coolest summit of 2022!!! We are excited to welcome everyone to Brooklyn-based Newlab for a day of dynamic panels, thought-provoking conversation, mingling with your fellow DERs nerds, and a sick after party. Snag your tickets here if you haven’t already — we’ll see ya there!

From the community

Big congrats to DER Task Force members Thomas Lee and Jake Masters on launching their startup Derapi! Here’s to hoping the Task Force continues to be a resource for potential hires and partners as they scale up the biz!

Thread of the Month

Kyle Baranko kicked off a great thread this month aiming to more precisely define how DERs monetize under non-wires alternatives (NWA) projects.

The big takeaways:

NWA is actually a very nebulous term, with several definitions floating around out there.
Because the definition is so nebulous, there are likely myriad ways for DERs to monetize under an NWA project, including but not limited to demand response.
There’s an open question as to whether demand response programs, such as ConEdison’s DLRP, qualify as a non-wires alternative. Because the DLRP aims to address shorter-term distribution system constraints rather than addressing longer-term infrastructure upgrade deferral, it doesn’t fit some definitions of non-wires alternatives.

Want to learn more? Catch up on the thread and check out our Task Force feature from Duncan Campbell from a few months back.

What we’re reading

The New York Times touched on the not-controversial-at-all topic of franchise rights. Check out the article here.

Following up on his FeDERalist paper from 2 weeks ago, we are diving into Mission:data founder Michael Murray’s report on the roll out (or lack thereof) of smart meters following the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Check it out here.

Jobs

🚨DERTFest Sponsor Alert 🚨

We're thrilled to have EnergyHub join as a sponsor of the inaugural DERTFest — you can check out their open roles across engineering, product, and more here!

Other cool jobs!

Generac is hiring a Senior Energy Solutions Manager focused on the retail energy sector. You can apply here and reach out to Hari Sivadas for more.
Previously mentioned startup Derapi is hiring for a Principal Software Engineer. You can learn more about the role here and reach out to Jake Masters with any questions.

Have a job and want to share? Fill out this form to get it in our database.