The Energy Policy Act of 2005 and its Impact on Distributed Generation

The energy policy act of 2005 substantially modifies a number of past energy legislation and adds new legislation. This impacts the applications, R&D efforts and perhaps how electricity is delivered and utilized in the foreseeable future. A part of the bill has the stated purpose of achieving energy self-sufficiency by the year 2025 (a very ambitious goal) within the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This bill also has provisions for anyone wishing to connect to the existing power grid (either at the transmission or distribution level) and sell power to a utility or other entity including incentives for generation of electricity from certain types of sources. This paper provides a comprehensive review and describe the impact of this bill on distributed generation, the electricity market, the national electrical grid, and the future of how electricity is delivered in the U.S