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If you\u2019re not paying attention to what\u2019s going on in energy, you should. We\u2019ve seen this movie before. Spoiler alert: There\u2019s massive economic opportunity ahead. How massive? Imagine standing in 1992, knowing that Google, Akamai, Netflix, Facebook, Amazon, eBay, BuzzFeed and Uber lay ahead.<\/p>\n
This time it\u2019s the \u201cenernet,\u201d not the internet, that will transform our lives. The story is the same, though the players have changed.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the tee up. Across the country, incumbent network providers operate highly centralized networks in their respective cities. Then, scrappy local outfits start serving the market with innovative, distributed technology. These startups create competition, and a new network emerges atop the legacy network.<\/p>\n
That was the backdrop 30 years ago when a little thing called the internet emerged. Startups like CompuServe, AOL, EarthLink, Netcom and a host of other local ISPs kicked off the conversion from analog to digital by offering internet access over existing cable and telco networks.<\/p>\n
Today, the actors are SolarCity<\/a>, Sunrun<\/a> and a host of others moving us off fossil fuels and into clean energy supported by smart equipment, services and software, offered atop existing utility networks. This time, it\u2019s the enernet.<\/p>\n Enernet<\/em><\/strong>. Noun. A dynamic, distributed, redundant and multi-participant energy network built around clean energy generation, storage and delivery and serving as the foundation for smart cities.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Jigar Shah<\/a>, founder of SunEdison<\/a>, seeded the enernet revolution more than a decade ago. He devised a breakthrough financing model that made solar affordable and scalable. He\u2019s the Marc Andreessen of this storyline\u2026 seminal, smart and strategic.<\/p>\n Today, watch Elon Musk. He presented new solar roof shingles<\/a> to the world a few months ago. Solar that\u2019s affordable and attractive. Plus, he\u2019s integrating it into a game-changing home system with storage and EV charging<\/a>. Think the world\u2019s first iPhone. Musk\u2019s electric car company, Tesla, is poised to be an enernet giant, the Amazon of this go-around \u2014 margin-challenged in its early years, but set to move.<\/p>\n It goes well beyond Tesla. There is a long list of enernet innovators now emerging. They are building nanogrids, microgrids, distributed energy resources and virtual power plants. They are creating new, intelligent building materials and smart lighting. They are deploying new networks and intelligence that are driving down costs and improving services.<\/p>\n At heart, the enernet is the foundation for smart-city tech, including the \u201cInternet of Things,\u201d distributed systems, interconnected backbones and networking technologies, EV-charging services and autonomous vehicles, to name a few. These technologies will drive dramatic change and force us to rethink our cities, municipal services and sectors like transportation, insurance, real estate and financial services.<\/p>\n From the enernet evolution will come smart cities that are an order-of-magnitude smarter, healthier and safer. The new network will also present quantum leaps in energy security and emergency resilience that can stand in the face of superstorms or cyberattacks.<\/p>\n Hold on to your seats. We\u2019re at the early stages of something immense.<\/p>\n Still, I hear the seeds of fear and doubt. There is an oft-cited refrain that the transition will cost a lot and take a long time. That\u2019s absolutely silly. We don\u2019t look back at the internet transformation from analog to digital and think, \u201cWow, that was slow and cost a ton of money. We should have stuck with the typewriter and landline.\u201d Fact is, it was blazingly fast and driven by those who understood the spend as leveraged investment, not cost center.<\/p>\n Likewise, the move to clean energy will seem fast and prudent as solar and energy storage continue to scale, smart cities accelerate and prices continue their fall.<\/p>\n I also hear \u201cthe utilities are in big trouble.\u201d Let\u2019s not be simplistic. Google didn\u2019t kill Comcast. Comcast is doing just fine. The utilities that own transmission and distribution networks (the wires companies) have enormous value and opportunity ahead. There is no way that the transition happens without the participation of these companies, and there is considerable economic upside ahead for them. Forward-thinking utilities \u2014 Consolidated Edison, National Grid and others \u2014 see what\u2019s coming and are poised to thrive in the enernet world.<\/p>\n Sure, fossil-fuel generators and suppliers have challenges ahead, just like the content companies were challenged by newer, more flexible, cost-effective content producers. It\u2019ll be up to the management teams at these companies to de-risk the future with intelligent investment and acquisitions. Hats off to folks like David Crane<\/a>, a visionary who worked to drive that transition at NRG Energy<\/a>. We will see more of that type of leadership again over the next 10 years as market dynamics shift and outcomes become more obvious and urgent to the incumbents.<\/p>\n That said, enernet innovation, like innovation in every other sector, is unlikely to originate from within the incumbents. If you don\u2019t believe me, read books like The Innovator\u2019s Dilemma<\/a>\u00a0by Clayton Christensen or\u00a0this article<\/a>\u00a0from Accenture that asserts \u201ccorporate innovation does not work.\u201d Unless a Lou Gerstner or Steve Jobs is at the helm of an incumbent, innovation will be acquired, not grown.<\/p>\n This backdrop presents incredible opportunity for startups and early investors in the space. I\u2019m excited to be part of that, and I hope that talented entrepreneurs turn their attention from the app economy to the enernet. There\u2019s enormous upside.<\/p>\n As I said, we\u2019ve seen this movie. Let\u2019s stop acting surprised, and instead start acting. An economic powerhouse awaits the United States. We\u2019ll be thankful we chose to become a worldwide enernet leader, as this evolution creates a new kind of healthy, robust economy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Featured Image: Chris Sattlberger\/Blend Images\/Getty Images<\/small><\/p>\n Article source: https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2017\/01\/22\/energy-is-the-new-new-internet\/?ncid=rss<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you\u2019re not paying attention to what\u2019s going on in energy, you should. We\u2019ve seen this movie before. Spoiler alert: There\u2019s massive economic opportunity ahead. How massive? 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