PV Magazine Features DECH on Distributed Energy ROI
DECH CEO Richard Zdunkewicz explores why the real return on distributed energy investments goes beyond traditional financial metrics.
Return Quality
Capital Efficiency
Operational Feasibility
Risk-Adjusted Value
Distributed Energy Clearinghouse (DECH) was featured in PV Magazine USA in an article by CEO Richard Zdunkewicz titled “The Real ROI of Distributed Energy Lies Beyond the Spreadsheet.”
Published July 9, 2026, the article explores an important consideration for commercial and industrial energy customers: financial metrics alone cannot fully determine whether a distributed energy investment makes economic sense.
Internal rate of return, net present value, and payback period all play an important role. But understanding the dependability, operational requirements, and risks behind those projected returns is equally essential.
Looking Beyond Traditional Financial Metrics
For many businesses, investing in distributed energy has become a capital allocation decision rather than simply an equipment or sustainability decision.
Electricity costs, demand charges, market incentives, grid reliability, and resilience requirements can all influence the financial attractiveness of solar, battery storage, and hybrid energy systems.
Internal Rate of Return
Measures projected investment return.
Net Present Value
Evaluates projected value in today’s dollars.
Return on Investment
Evaluates the financial benefit relative to cost.
An attractive modeled financial return does not automatically make a project the best investment.
A Massachusetts Battery Storage Comparison
In the published PV Magazine article, Zdunkewicz compares the economics of two potential distributed energy investments for a commercial facility in Massachusetts.
The analysis evaluates a standalone battery against a solar-plus-battery configuration, with both projects designed to capture available sources of distributed energy value.
A standalone storage system designed to capture available savings and market opportunities.
Its economics depend heavily on dispatch strategy and the programs available to the battery.
A combined system that adds on-site electricity generation to the flexibility provided by battery storage.
In the modeled example, this configuration generates the stronger financial result.
The solar-plus-battery case demonstrates a shorter payback period, higher after-tax IRR, and larger NPV.
The result also highlights why capital efficiency matters when comparing competing investments.
The most valuable conclusion is not simply which project produces the largest financial return. It is understanding the sources of that return and how reliably they can be realized.
Not All DER Value Streams Are Equal
Distributed energy projects can create value through several distinct mechanisms. Each carries different financial characteristics, operational requirements, and levels of uncertainty.
Reducing electricity purchased from the grid.
Managing peak electricity consumption and related costs.
Earning revenue from qualifying programs.
Capturing eligible opportunities in electricity markets.
Improving project economics through available incentives.
The economics become more complex when these opportunities compete for the same equipment capacity. A battery reserved for one program may have less flexibility to pursue another source of value.
This makes it important to distinguish dependable savings from revenue opportunities that depend on electricity prices, program rules, eligibility, and operating performance.
Why Site-Specific Analysis Matters
Assessing the return on a distributed energy investment requires more than generalized estimates. The characteristics of the customer and the local market influence which value streams are actually available.
Facility Load Profile
Utility Tariffs
Markets & Incentives
Investment Risk
Project evaluation should also account for equipment operating strategy, interconnection limitations, and the owner’s financial objectives.
At DECH, our analytics platform is designed to bring these considerations together, helping consultants, brokers, developers, and commercial energy decision-makers evaluate opportunities with greater financial and operational clarity.
The strongest distributed energy investment is one whose financial opportunity can realistically be captured within the owner’s operational and risk constraints.
Read the Full Article in PV Magazine USA
In his published analysis, Richard Zdunkewicz examines how financial metrics, value-stack quality, capital efficiency, and execution risk combine to influence distributed energy investment decisions.
The article offers a deeper look at the Massachusetts investment comparison and why modeled project economics need to be evaluated alongside the practical requirements for capturing value.
The Real ROI of Distributed Energy Lies Beyond the Spreadsheet
Read Richard Zdunkewicz’s full July 2026 article in PV Magazine USA.
Read Full Article
Interested in understanding the full value stack for a proposed distributed energy investment? Contact Distributed Energy Clearinghouse to learn more about our analytics.
