To guarantee power system stability and security of supply in both countries is not just a technological challenge – more and more actors consider the conversion of the power supply a social experiment based on new cooperative planning procedures. In 2007, California had already established the Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative (RETI) that aimed for more public participation and a compromise between as many interest groups as possible. As the coordinator of RETI, David Olsen set new standards. Inspired by this process, other actors started to rethink their own roles too: grid operators who increasingly take on more responsibility beyond technological neutrality are only one example.
Being a pioneer of integrated and participatory planning of renewable energy sources, as well as system reliability and grid development, Mr. Olsen’s insights can be of high relevance for the German “Energiewende”.