{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/141893"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/141893","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Distributed energy platforms: Who will lead the next electricity revolution?","abstract":"Climate change is forcing rapid change in the energy landscape. Two opposing paths represent plausible futures for the US power sector: centralization vs. distribution. Without trying to predict its likelihood, this thesis explores the implications of one of these paths, a distributed energy future. My objective is to investigate who could become the leader of this revolutionized industry. I specifically explore the potential role of three types of actors: privately-owned Utilities, energy-software Startups, and Large Tech companies, whom many do not yet factor into their assessment despite what I consider to be their vast scope to shape outcomes. A literature review establishes the broad contours of a distributed energy future. I find that existing scenarios predict a more complex energy system and that intermittency would become a significant issue. I consider the role of distributed energy resources (DER) as a viable solution if built on digital platforms. To draw out the implications of these observations, I conducted nine in-depth interviews with executives. The analysis yielded four key insights: a distributed system would be a revolution for the industry; Utilities are under much pressure, putting their leading position at risk; Startups are in a position of dependency and cannot take the lead alone; Large Tech are much closer to playing an active role than it looks at first glance. I sketch out comparisons with recent history to suggest that Large Tech companies should be considered as serious contenders for the leading role of a decentralized energy industry. I extend my analysis to the unique case of Tesla, also in a position of strength in this plausible future. I conclude this thesis by estimating that the answer depends on how utilities will act in this future, either by transforming themselves fast enough or letting Large Tech companies take over.","abstract_html":"Climate change is forcing rapid change in the energy landscape. Two opposing paths represent plausible futures for the US power sector: centralization vs. distribution. Without trying to predict its likelihood, this thesis explores the implications of one of these paths, a distributed energy future. My objective is to investigate who could become the leader of this revolutionized industry. I specifically explore the potential role of three types of actors: privately-owned Utilities, energy-software Startups, and Large Tech companies, whom many do not yet factor into their assessment despite what I consider to be their vast scope to shape outcomes. A literature review establishes the broad contours of a distributed energy future. I find that existing scenarios predict a more complex energy system and that intermittency would become a significant issue. I consider the role of distributed energy resources (DER) as a viable solution if built on digital platforms. To draw out the implications of these observations, I conducted nine in-depth interviews with executives. The analysis yielded four key insights: a distributed system would be a revolution for the industry; Utilities are under much pressure, putting their leading position at risk; Startups are in a position of dependency and cannot take the lead alone; Large Tech are much closer to playing an active role than it looks at first glance. I sketch out comparisons with recent history to suggest that Large Tech companies should be considered as serious contenders for the leading role of a decentralized energy industry. I extend my analysis to the unique case of Tesla, also in a position of strength in this plausible future. I conclude this thesis by estimating that the answer depends on how utilities will act in this future, either by transforming themselves fast enough or letting Large Tech companies take over.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gentil-Cantin, Kevin M."],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":"Master","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Sloan School of Management","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Sastry, Anjali"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-06","date_published":"2021-06","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:22:14Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted","Copyright retained by author(s)"],"rights_urls":["https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/141893","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Sastry, Anjali"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Sloan School of Management"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gentil-Cantin, Kevin M."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2022-04-13T17:29:32Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-04-13T17:29:32Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2021-06"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master","Master of Business Administration"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted","Copyright retained by author(s)"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/141893"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Climate change is forcing rapid change in the energy landscape. Two opposing paths represent plausible futures for the US power sector: centralization vs. distribution. Without trying to predict its likelihood, this thesis explores the implications of one of these paths, a distributed energy future. My objective is to investigate who could become the leader of this revolutionized industry. I specifically explore the potential role of three types of actors: privately-owned Utilities, energy-software Startups, and Large Tech companies, whom many do not yet factor into their assessment despite what I consider to be their vast scope to shape outcomes. A literature review establishes the broad contours of a distributed energy future. I find that existing scenarios predict a more complex energy system and that intermittency would become a significant issue. I consider the role of distributed energy resources (DER) as a viable solution if built on digital platforms. To draw out the implications of these observations, I conducted nine in-depth interviews with executives. The analysis yielded four key insights: a distributed system would be a revolution for the industry; Utilities are under much pressure, putting their leading position at risk; Startups are in a position of dependency and cannot take the lead alone; Large Tech are much closer to playing an active role than it looks at first glance. I sketch out comparisons with recent history to suggest that Large Tech companies should be considered as serious contenders for the leading role of a decentralized energy industry. I extend my analysis to the unique case of Tesla, also in a position of strength in this plausible future. I conclude this thesis by estimating that the answer depends on how utilities will act in this future, either by transforming themselves fast enough or letting Large Tech companies take over."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["M.B.A."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Distributed energy platforms: Who will lead the next electricity revolution?"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Sastry, Anjali"],"dc:contributor.department":["Sloan School of Management"],"dc:creator":["Gentil-Cantin, Kevin M."],"dc:date.accessioned":["2022-04-13T17:29:32Z"],"dc:date.available":["2022-04-13T17:29:32Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2021-06"],"dc:description.abstract":["Climate change is forcing rapid change in the energy landscape. Two opposing paths represent plausible futures for the US power sector: centralization vs. distribution. Without trying to predict its likelihood, this thesis explores the implications of one of these paths, a distributed energy future. My objective is to investigate who could become the leader of this revolutionized industry. I specifically explore the potential role of three types of actors: privately-owned Utilities, energy-software Startups, and Large Tech companies, whom many do not yet factor into their assessment despite what I consider to be their vast scope to shape outcomes. A literature review establishes the broad contours of a distributed energy future. I find that existing scenarios predict a more complex energy system and that intermittency would become a significant issue. I consider the role of distributed energy resources (DER) as a viable solution if built on digital platforms. To draw out the implications of these observations, I conducted nine in-depth interviews with executives. The analysis yielded four key insights: a distributed system would be a revolution for the industry; Utilities are under much pressure, putting their leading position at risk; Startups are in a position of dependency and cannot take the lead alone; Large Tech are much closer to playing an active role than it looks at first glance. I sketch out comparisons with recent history to suggest that Large Tech companies should be considered as serious contenders for the leading role of a decentralized energy industry. I extend my analysis to the unique case of Tesla, also in a position of strength in this plausible future. I conclude this thesis by estimating that the answer depends on how utilities will act in this future, either by transforming themselves fast enough or letting Large Tech companies take over."],"dc:description.degree":["M.B.A."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/141893"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted","Copyright retained by author(s)"],"dc:rights.uri":["https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"dc:title":["Distributed energy platforms: Who will lead the next electricity revolution?"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master","Master of Business Administration"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:22:14Z"}