U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Distributed Energy Program

Obstacles to DE

The availability of new distributed energy technologies at a time when the electricity industry is open to competition and choice provides a great opportunity for rapid penetration of these technologies, provided existing obstacles are removed.

Distributed load reduction technologies face few obstacles other than high up-front costs. But although the potential benefits of distributed power systems are substantial, technical, market, and regulatory barriers currently hinder consumer access to these benefits. Many of these barriers are artifacts of regulated market structures; others stem from a lack of industry experience with distributed power technologies.

Pursue the following for more information:

Overcoming Immediate Obstacles — Learn about the most pressing barriers to distributed power.
Capturing the Full Value of Distributed Power — Learn about changes that will be needed for distributed power to achieve its full market potential.