Looking past the horizon of renewable energy

Many utilities and investors still view wide deployment of renewable-energy technologies with caution. But conversations at the 2017哈佛商学院能源研讨会10月21日指定的市场已经达到了一个转折点。

对于很多在过去的十年中，传统能源行业都认为可再生能源项目，作为一种新型的创新。太阳能和风力发电是技术进行试点。这些都是有风险的项目，如果他们预期的高回报，投资者只有走近。许多电力公司都谨慎采用这些资源的显著股纳入其业务。

But now equity investors, who tend to favor conventional energy or infrastructure investments, are increasingly considering large-scale investments in renewable energy. Interest in future innovations is now focused on energy storage. Investors are also considering other ways to integrate more and more intermittent and distributed renewable power sources.

The symposium featured panels such as "Energy Storage and the Modern Grid," "Investing in Energy-Private Equity and Debt" and "Starting an Energy Venture." It also included other conversations on blockchain as a financial tool for energy transactions, responses to water-scarcity threats and impact investing to fund energy innovation.

纵观这些面板，小组成员表示，他们认为可再生能源迅速成熟的行业。行业领导者已开始专注于能源技术和商业模式的创新旁边。公用事业正在探索如何将大量的可再生能源，并考虑方式储能可以促进这一点。

Institutional investors are spending a significant amount of time working to understand the renewable energy industry. They are considering how to monetize large projects using a similar structure to major infrastructure investments.

机构投资者花费的时间显著量的工作，了解可再生能源产业。

和可再生能源企业家建议感兴趣的新的企业把眼光局限在风能和太阳能的行业，技术日益成熟的观众。

The conference opened with a discussion of the evolving electricity sector.

Katherine Hamilton, principal at 38 North Solutions, said the electric-utility space is one where some utilities are accelerating their adoption of renewable energy while others are dragging their feet. But all of them want to know what’s going to happen next.

The expectation is that utilities and other energy companies must be prepared for a future in which consumers demand more engagement with their electricity consumption. This will force utilities and regulators to adapt.

这些趋势创造了电力服务和创新新的商业机会。

然而，扬声器的共识是，虽然电力公司业务模式可能会随时间而变化，电力公司将保留功能相似的作用，他们目前的职责。客户不会很快离开电网随时随地。

Storage as a Swiss Army knife

储能是fo讨论的热门话题r those interested in the future of the electricity sector. Hamilton has被引述as saying that "energy storage is bacon for the nation’s electricity grid" because it makes everything better.

Josh Gould, department manager of the Utility of the Future Project at Consolidated Edison, described a future where the traditional utility business model fundamentally has changed as utilities adapt to an increasingly distributed electricity infrastructure with storage.

The grid will remain a vital component — the backbone of this distributed-energy future.

This future is already becoming a reality in Hawaii, said Keiki-Pua Dancil, director of business strategy development with HECO. Over 400 MW of distributed residential storage are deployed to the grid in a growing market for solar-plus-storage solutions.

在思考，在未来，储能起着核心的作用，持续存在的问题是什么样的角色将是如何看重它提供的服务。

能源storage is bacon for the nation’s electricity grid because it makes everything better.

There is a great deal of excitement around the potential for "stacking" the benefits of energy storage. This involves deploying new projects that can provide multiple services from one system.

汤姆·莱顿，在EDF可再生能源分布式发电和存储的高级主管说，他看到四五个储能可行的应用。然而，随着成本的不断下降，企业越来越熟悉存储的使用，他们可能会发现二级和三级好处，可以提供额外的价值。

相比之下，马修Tuttleman，在青荷战略合作伙伴的业务发展经理，他说，虽然有可能是一个广泛的应用，堆叠的好处可能是一项挑战。他比较了存储系统的瑞士军刀。电池可用于多种用途，但您只能使用一个工具 - 如镊子，小刀或开瓶器 - 在同一时间。

With energy storage, when you use one service at a time, you have to devalue the rest of the services. Tuttleman said the current paradigm is one where "stackable value is there, but we have to greatly discount the secondary and tertiary values that are there."

Views of institutional energy investors

虽然机构投资者能的面板功能更保守的前景，这些预测的能量存储的未来，他们表现出对可再生能源技术类似的乐观情绪。

伊格纳西奥·鲁伊斯，美洲为Cubico可持续投资的投资策略负责人说，在过去的10年里，美国的可再生能源已经从一个非物质产业成长为一个行业220 GW。

鲁伊斯说，他还希望站在行业没有2025年的私人动机和企业的目标已经帮助该行业的成熟补贴。他说，这可能是企业采购的在美国的成功将在欧洲在未来几年被复制。

路易吉Pettinicchio，在HG资本可再生能源发电的负责人说，新的更大的可再生能源项目也表明一个成熟的产业。

项目汇集10到12个工程压缩空气nies and banks to support large power-purchase agreements, Pettinicchio said. This improves the project quality and capital requirements.

In the past 10 years, U.S. renewables have grown from an immaterial industry to an industry with 220 GW.

新项目让投资者迅速投入数十亿美元，Pettinicchio说。更大的项目正在推动规模经济，促进新的融资结构，如无杠杆投资，并说服风险投资基金直接在新项目投资。

Investors are growing interested in gaining more exposure to the renewables sector. And investment firms are spending more time learning about the industry.

对于可再生能源项目的风险下降，较大的项目，吸引更多的投资，这些项目正在对基础设施投资的特点。

这有助于带来新的机构投资者进入谁是熟悉的传统能源和基础设施项目投资的空间。

Hamish Kidd, vice president at Macquarie Capital, said the construction industry has a prime opportunity to capitalize on this space because of its familiarity with the investment risks of infrastructure projects.

However, Pettinicchio cautioned that forecasting power markets, which have experienced warped curves in recent years, presents a new challenge to investors interested in pursuing renewables projects.

Opportunities on the horizon

As institutional investors become more comfortable with renewable-energy markets, entrepreneurs are encouraged to look towards new horizons.

The serial entrepreneurs who shared their views on the "Starting an Energy Venture" panel advised attendees that there are plenty of opportunities for innovative ventures in the clean-energy space.

这是保持他们的脚趾企业家的环境。维罗尼卡比尼翁，CEO和明确能源联合创始人说，“如果一个想法听起来很酷，你听说过它，并有一个嗡嗡声，你很可能已经落后。”

With that in mind, it can be hard for entrepreneurs to discern the specific opportunities on the horizon. New models of financing renewables are presenting innovative approaches for deploying distributed solar and other renewable-energy services.

能源storage offers new ways to bolster electricity services. Ultimately, however, the uncertain future presents entrepreneurs with a wealth of opportunities.

“有一个很大的噪音和问题解决不缺，”本·桑普森，在GE能源风险投资企业的董事。

这样的描述可以在恰当大量应用于工业，画一个光明的未来在地平线上的可再生能源市场的照片。