The thing is, the new energy industry is not yet in the algorithm stage of maturity. This feels silly, because the traditional energy industry is old and seen as an area lacking in innovation. But here we are on the cusp of seeing our entire energy infrastructure undergo a total butterfly-like transformation, and innovation is at the core of that transformation. Everything old is new again, and we as an industry find ourselves back at the Mystery and Heuristic stages of technology development.

The new energy industry is just not ready for full automation of the feasibility, design, and operational processes. It is coming. We will get there. Some energy applications (solar) are more advanced along the path of maturity than others (energy storage, energy trading). But for now, you should absolutely want to have a human in the loop while designing and deploying energy systems.

Here are five reasons you should always want human eyes on whatever analysis you commission to design, build, and operate systems of DERs: