The recent Smart Energy Summit session included a panel discussion featuring experts from Pila Energy, Green Button Alliance, Bentley Systems, and Anker Solix. The panel explored grid resilience, flexibility, data access, storage, customer value, and the path to scaling DER participation.
Panelists discussed several critical themes:
- Consumers are not just buying hardware; they increasingly want an energy ecosystem.
- Simplicity is essential to adoption.
- Storage is becoming a key enabler of flexibility and resilience.
- Utilities need stronger partnerships with customer-facing solution providers.
- Software, standards, and trusted data access will play a major role in scaling participation.
One message stood out throughout the discussion: if the industry wants mass-market adoption, solutions must be designed to be easy to understand, easy to install, and easy to use.
The March 5 session set the tone for an important year in smart energy. As the market continues to evolve, the opportunity lies in bridging consumer needs with utility goals through simpler products, stronger partnerships, and smarter orchestration. Parks Associates will continue the conversation at the next Smart Energy Summit virtual session on August 20, 2026.
