German Utilities and distributed PV: How to overcome Barriers to Business Model Innovation

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

The transformation of the energy industry towards a more sustainable production of electricity increases the importance of distributed generation from renewable sources such as solar photovoltaic (PV). German utilities have largely failed to benefit from this development and lost 97% of the distributed PV generation market to investors from outside the electric power industry. Recent studies indicate that utilities have to react to prevent revenue erosion and loss of profits. This study identifies threats and opportunities of distributed PV generation for utilities based on a series of interviews with German utility managers. The key finding is that utilities do not perceive distributed PV as a threat to their current business models nor do they see it as a potential market for them. Relating these findings to the existing literature on transformation processes in other industries leads to the conclusion that the solution for utilities lies in changing their perspective on distributed PV. Utilities could greatly benefit if they did not treat PV as just another source of electricity generation in competition with traditional sources (as they do today), but as a strategic gateway into the emerging distributed generation and service market. Distributed PV could function as a basis for further business model innovation in new growth markets such as energy efficiency and distributed storage. Specific recommendations are provided and a modular value proposition is suggested to help utilities to turn distributed PV from a threat into an attractive business opportunity.
Original languageEnglish
JournalRenewable Energy
Volume55
Issue number7
Pages (from-to)456-466
Number of pages11
ISSN0960-1481
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 07.2013

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Sustainable Consumption - Mapping the Terrain
  2. A Developmental Trend in the Structure of Time-Estimation Performance
  3. Employing a Novel Metaheuristic Algorithm to Optimize an LSTM Model
  4. Evaluating a Bayesian Student Model of Decimal Misconceptions
  5. Towards a Comprehensive Framework for Environmental Management Accounting
  6. How generative drawing affects the learning process
  7. Development of a Parameterized Model for Additively Manufactured Dies to Control the Strains in Extrudates
  8. Switching cascade controllers combined with a feedforward regulation for an aggregate actuator in automotive applications
  9. Bayesian Parameter Estimation in Green Business Process Management
  10. Logical-Rollenspiele
  11. Life Cycle Assessment of Consumption Patterns – Understanding the links between changing social practices and environmental impacts
  12. On the Difficulty of Forgetting
  13. A Besov space mapping property for the double layer potential on polygons
  14. Optimising business performance with standard software systems
  15. Separable models for interconnected production-inventory systems
  16. Challenges for biodiversity monitoring using citizen science in transitioning social-ecological systems
  17. An automated, modular system for organic waste utilization using Hermetia illucens larvae
  18. Patching Meaningfulness:
  19. Managing Multiple Logics: The Role of Performance Measurement Systems in Social Enterprises
  20. The Creation of the Concept through the Interaction of Philosophy with Science and Art
  21. Can guided introspection help avoid rationalization of meat consumption?
  22. Comparing Empirical Methodologies in Pragmatics
  23. Variational Pragmatics
  24. Global finite-time stabilization of a class of perturbed planar systems with actuator saturation and disturbances
  25. Transdisciplinary co-creation increases the utilization of knowledge from sustainable development research
  26. A Sensitive Microsystem as Biosensor for Cell Growth Monitoring and Antibiotic Testing
  27. A geometric approach for the model parameter estimation in a permanent magnet synchronous motor
  28. Instruments for research on transition. Applied methods and approaches for exploring the transition of young care leavers to adulthood
  29. Differentiating forest types using TerraSAR–X spotlight images based on inferential statistics and multivariate analysis
  30. Action rate models for predicting actions in soccer
  31. Modern Baselines for SPARQL Semantic Parsing
  32. Dynamic performance
  33. Anisotropy and mechanical properties of dissimilar Al additive manufactured structures generated by multi-layer friction surfacing
  34. Do children with deficits in basic cognitive functions profit from mixed age primary schools?
  35. Mechanical properties and microstructures of nano SiC reinforced ZE10 composites prepared with ultrasonic vibration
  36. Multi-view hidden markov perceptrons
  37. Covert and overt automatic imitation are correlated
  38. Material flow analysis between dynamic modelling and life cycle assessment
  39. Modeling and simulation of the heterogenous material behavior in thermal-sprayed coatings
  40. Atomic Animals
  41. Fruit Detection and Yield Mass Estimation from a UAV Based RGB Dense Cloud for an Apple Orchard