New Research Shows DERs Could Avoid More Than Half a Trillion Dollars in U.S. Energy Costs

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Report quantifies the benefits of deploying more distributed energy resources to meet growing demand on the grid WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Brian Watts works on The…

Report quantifies the benefits of deploying more distributed energy resources to meet growing demand on the grid

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Brian Watts works on The Pew Charitable Trusts' energy modernization project.

Energy demand is driving U.S. electricity prices to record highs. But distributed energy resources (DERs)—clean, decentralized technologies such as rooftop solar and battery storage—offer an untapped way to ease that pressure. By embracing DERs, the United States could help meet demand while bolstering the reliability of the grid and reducing costs for those who use it.

The Brattle Group, a global consulting firm with expertise in energy markets, conducted modeling for The Pew Charitable Trusts to quantify the potential impact, on both costs and emissions, of a significant acceleration in DER deployment. The research shows that if key policy and regulatory barriers are removed throughout the U.S., total DER capacity could more than quadruple to reach 524 gigawatts (GW) by 2050—bringing meaningful benefits to the U.S. grid and customers.

The Brattle Group study considered how removing roadblocks to DER deployment—such as inefficient local permitting and interconnection processes, or utility planning that does not incorporate DERs—would affect the grid through 2050. The study compared scenarios based on differing levels of DER deployment. The business-as-usual ("status quo") scenario models a future U.S. power system in which current barriers to DERs persist. The "expanded DER" scenario, on the other hand, models a power system in which these barriers are eliminated and DERs are incorporated more extensively in resource planning throughout the country.

DERs provide several advantages over traditional energy infrastructure: They are modular, ready to deploy, and can reduce overall grid costs. The research finds that when compared with the status quo projection for 2050, the expanded DER scenario—which assumes a wide range of policy…

The research…

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