The transition to a distributed renewable energy future has often put the solar industry and utilities at odds -- most notably in the debate over net energy metering. But the animosity between the established utility industry and distributed energy upstarts may not be warranted. SGCC’s "Consumer Driven Technologies" shows that consumer attitudes toward rooftop solar may not align with company positions. And in some cases, the solar industry may be fighting in the wrong places.

Georgia Power renewed its energy efficiency contract with energy consulting firm ICF. In a statement, ICF said it was rewarded a three-year energy efficiency contract to help Georgia Power to implement its energy conservation projects to help consumers reduce their energy usage and costs. The energy consulting firm will be responsible for drafting new energy efficiency strategies to help Georgia Power improve the reliability of its grid network.

By adding 1,550 MW of new wind power in the Upper Midwest, the proposal is Xcel Energy’s largest wind energy investments to date with a total of seven wind farms to be built in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa. Xcel Energy will expand the company’s regional wind portfolio by 60 percent while providing enough energy to power more than 800,000 homes.

Projecting the future has been an American obsession since some not-yet-established pilgrims set sail from England to a newer version across the ocean with only a shiny vision for guidance. We love to try and figure out how things will work out — so we can appropriately plan ahead. So, what are the top lessons from McKinsey's report for those in the smaller slice of the utility industry?

Solar energy is becoming a generation resource so ubiquitous that utilities are looking beyond simply contracting for new capacity and are increasingly moving into the sector themselves. Solar added a record-breaking 14,762 MW of capacity in 2016, nearly doubling its 2015 growth. The resource added 39 percent of all new U.S. generation capacity in the year, making it the leader among all resources for the first time.

BNEF recently predicted a power system shift from one built around large fuel-based generators to one with variable renewable generators as its backbone. While wind and solar’s growth creates financial opportunity, they also open the door for new investment and customer savings from power use itself—a resource called demand response.