Clean Energy 101: The Changing Electricity Grid - RMI

This guide provides an overview of the traditional centralized electricity grid architecture and the emerging shift toward distributed energy resources (DERs) to improve reliability and flexibility in the face of rising demand and extreme weather.

• The traditional electricity grid is a centralized, continent-spanning network that has remained the global default architecture since 1882. It functions by generating power at large plants, increasing voltage at substations for long-distance transmission, and decreasing voltage via transformers for end-user delivery.
• In the United States, grid investment peaked after World War II, but demand leveled off starting in the 1970s, leading to a period of scant investment in infrastructure. This legacy system is now threatened by extreme weather, volatile fuel prices, and surging demand.
• Distributed energy resources (DERs), such as rooftop solar panels and battery storage, are creating a shift away from centralized power plants toward a model where smaller power sources are distributed among many users. These resources increase system flexibility and resilience, allowing businesses to stabilize costs and sell electricity back to the grid.

APA

RMI (2026). Clean Energy 101: The Changing Electricity Grid - RMI. https://rmi.org/resources/clean-energy-101-the-changing-electricity-grid/

Chicago

RMI. Clean Energy 101: The Changing Electricity Grid - RMI. 2026. https://rmi.org/resources/clean-energy-101-the-changing-electricity-grid/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Clean Energy 101: The Changing Electricity Grid - RMI |date=23 June 2026 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/clean-energy-101-the-changing-electricity-grid/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2026clean, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Clean Energy 101: The Changing Electricity Grid - RMI}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/clean-energy-101-the-changing-electricity-grid/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }