Ryan Hanley is convinced that the distributed electric grid will create vastly more economic, security and societal value than today's centralized system.

Over the course of his career as a civil engineer -- working at Pacific Gas & Electric, SolarCity, Tesla and now Advanced Microgrid Solutions -- Hanley has worked to understand and extract that value. 

"A macro theme that I've been tracking in my career is that exchange of value over the grid, [which] I'm convinced will only become more transactive over time. More value will be exchanged in markets as the system relentlessly tries to take out economic fat from the system."

In this week's conversation, Shayle Kann talks with Hanley about the tools at hand to re-engineer the distributed, transactive grid system. 

Topics addressed in this interview include:

  • What distributed energy resources actually look like to utility distribution engineers and planners.
  • The ultimate outcome of net metering battles and the market's natural "equilibrium."
  • How markets can extract maximum value from solar, storage and load control.
  • What it takes to build a 100-megawatt battery in South Australia in 100 days based on a tweet from Elon Musk.
  • The role of blockchain in future electricity markets.
  • Plus, we'll play a bonus round of "Who said it?" and quiz Hanley on quotes from executives from PG&E, SolarCity, Tesla and Advanced Microgrid Solutions.

This podcast is also brought to you by Shoals, the gold standard for solar and storage balance-of-systems solutions. Learn more about how Shoals can make your project operate at the highest level.

This podcast is brought to you by Fiveworx, a turnkey customer engagement platform for utilities. Find out more about how Fiveworx can help your customer engagement program succeed -- and get you beyond the meter.

Recommended reading:

  • GTM: AMS Beefs Up Leadership Team With SolarCity’s Grid Services Guru
  • GTM: SolarCity on Building and Operating a 21st-Century Power Grid

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