The article lists three important solutions for transition to clean electricity. But there is also a fourth important solution, one that I think HN crowd can help with: demand side management systems. Essentially, this aims to match energy utilisation to energy production.
One idea which needs implementing ASAP is a way to use EV batteries as a flexible storage device, so that you charge the battery when there is a surplus of power, and perhaps release a bit of energy when there is a deficit. To do this in a user-friendly way is not trivial, but surely not that hard either. And yet no current or planned EV seems to be offering this.
We are going to need more than just those 3 solutions they mentioned. One of them is demand side management systems, as you mention. These behind the meter (BTM) solutions are going to vary a lot in the scope they address.
You mention using EVs. This will happen in the future, but it is still a ways a way for a few reasons. The primary reasons are because EV adoption is still rather low (adoption is increasing fast and penetration varies by region), and because there is often little monetary incentive, largely because tariffs (electricity rates utilities charge) are not sophisticated. For more sophisticated (and effective) rates to incentivize actions like what you mention, we are going to need more intelligent systems in front of the meter (the transmission and distribution systems that utilities control), and those are often enabled by smart meters (AMI).
For demand side management, think beyond physical batteries. Think virtual. Buildings can act as virtual batteries as they can vary consumption (which is largely enabled by thermal inertia). A lot can be said about energy right now, so I'm not trying to be long-winded...
Also, we're on it! At yize nrg[1], we are lowering HVAC energy costs for large buildings using intelligent agents. We save money by lowering consumption and by doing so at advantageous times, like when prices are higher (based on LMP or tariff). This is demand side management, and we can also offer demand response services back to the utility.
[1]: http://www.yizenrg.com
This is very interesting, but note that in the diagram on the linked page, the "consumers" are "not controllable" - so it seems that this does not address the demand side management opportunity.
I am not sure... where I live (Australia), the electricity supply policy is essentially aimed at avoiding brownouts on hot days, I suppose for the fear of losing building cooling (this has resulted in fatalities in the past). This incidentally results in having a massive amount of standby power generation, and rather high electricity prices.
I think the low hanging fruit (in Australia at least) is various industrial users (eg aluminium smelters). The politics around this are fascinating, but unfortunately too complex to describe properly here...
One idea which needs implementing ASAP is a way to use EV batteries as a flexible storage device, so that you charge the battery when there is a surplus of power, and perhaps release a bit of energy when there is a deficit. To do this in a user-friendly way is not trivial, but surely not that hard either. And yet no current or planned EV seems to be offering this.
Can someone get onto this please :)