US States Race to Put Distributed Energy to Work

A new Pew research tool maps 400+ state laws advancing rooftop solar, battery storage, and virtual power plants across America

24 Apr 2026

A sweeping new research tool has put the full scale of America's distributed energy push into sharp focus. The Pew Charitable Trusts and the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center have jointly published a State Policy Explorer that documents more than 400 distributed energy resource laws enacted across US states between 2021 and 2025. The database covers everything from energy storage procurement targets to interconnection reform, offering researchers and policymakers the most comprehensive mapping of the DER legislative landscape to date.

The timing reflects a grid under pressure. Rising electricity demand from AI data centers, domestic manufacturing expansion, and vehicle electrification has sent state legislatures searching for flexible, local solutions. Distributed energy resources including rooftop solar, battery storage, smart appliances, and microgrids have emerged as a primary answer. The Pew tool reveals just how broadly that answer has taken hold, with lawmakers from across the political spectrum acting on grid modernization.

Among the standout findings, 24 states passed laws to better incorporate DERs into utility planning frameworks, allowing utilities to treat customer-sited batteries and smart thermostats as reliable capacity assets. A further 12 states established firm procurement targets for energy storage, with Rhode Island setting an 885-megawatt storage goal by 2033. Virtual power plants drew particular attention, with 12 states and Puerto Rico adopting policies to deploy aggregated DER networks, including a Virginia pilot program authorizing up to 450 megawatts of VPP capacity.

Researchers point to this legislative wave as evidence that DERs have moved from pilot programs to mainstream grid strategy. By simplifying interconnection rules and streamlining permitting, states are actively reducing the barriers that once kept distributed generation on the margins. For utilities and energy planners, the explorer now provides a structured evidence base for comparing state approaches and identifying which regulatory models are delivering results. The data makes one conclusion hard to avoid: local energy is becoming the backbone of America's next-generation grid.