Ryan Stancil,
Editor
March 5, 2021
Publisher’s Note: As we grow here at Daily Profit Cycle, our goal is to bring you additional perspectives. It takes a village to raise a portfolio. And hearing only from me is a sure path to becoming bored and myopic. That’s why I’m happy to introduce you to Ryan Stancil. Ryan may be new to you, but he’s been in the industry since 2014, writing and editing at Outsider Club... and proving himself adept at handling any cycle the market has thrown at him. I’m glad to have him, and you will be too.
Enjoy,
—Nick
Progress can’t come without change.
And change very rarely comes without disruption.
That’s exactly what we’re about to see when it comes to the way this country uses power.
It’s a necessary step as we head into this next decade of the 21st century. It’s something that will affect every single person in the country, even if most of them never realize it.
It all has to do with emerging technology, the need to accommodate a more complex system, and a greater degree of control for consumers.
The story is over 100 years in the making and involves just about every cutting-edge technology you’ve been hearing about recently.
Think about things like 5G, the Internet of Things, and renewable energy. Now you’ve got a better idea of what’s coming.
It’s called the Smart Grid, and it’s a once-in-a-generation story that no one is really talking about.
Why is it a big deal, and what about it makes it ‘Smart’?
That answer lies in the fact that the country’s current electrical grid is over 100 years old. It’s having an increasingly hard time keeping up with the demand being added to it daily.
You don’t really even need to look at the last 100 years of technological advances to see how our needs have changed. Things like smartphones, home computers, and on-demand entertainment have all come about in just the last two decades or so. And that’s only what the average person has in their home.
Businesses and government offices have changed too. They now rely on increasingly complex technology to carry out day-to-day tasks.
And the aging electrical grid, the network that gets electricity from the power plant to your home, hasn’t been able to completely keep up.
The Smart Grid changes that by including a two-way communication network.
Normally, power travels from the plant to the customer. Under a Smart Grid system, power companies receive feedback on their operations, making it possible to react to demand in real-time.
That means faster reactions to disruptions, better network security, and overall more efficient transmission of electricity to customers.
As it stands, the effects of something like a blackout ripple out, taking down systems all over for hours — if not days.
The capabilities of a Smart Grid would make that network more resilient and better able to handle emergencies like storms and other natural disasters. You don't need to look any further than incidents like California wildfires and winter storms in Texas to see just how important that kind of capability can be.
And besides being more efficient and capable than a traditional power grid, the Smart Grid also has the potential to be more decentralized.
See, one of the biggest potential benefits of a Smart Grid is the implementation of what are called Virtual Power Plants (VPP). Under this kind of system, several types of power sources contribute to the supply. They form a structure that is overseen by a central control system while remaining independent in ownership.
Basically, every independent unit helps to lighten the load on the grid by carrying some of the weight. Consumers can benefit from this if they own a unit that’s part of the VPP and they’re able to sell any excess electricity that their unit has for whatever the market is willing to pay.
A unit in this case can be something like a battery, a solar panel, or anything else that consumes, stores, or creates electricity. The idea is that everyone is able to get in on it in some way.
It’s a 21st-century solution to a 21st-century problem. And with that comes 21st-century investment opportunity.
Here at Daily Profit Cycle, we’ll be following the story and bringing you the names of little-known companies that could become household names because of this technology.
So stay tuned, because the opportunity will be here before you know
Keep your eyes open,
Ryan Stancil
Editor, Daily Profit Cycle
Ryan Stancil is an editor and regular contributor to Daily Profit Cycle. He’s been active in the financial publishing industry for more than half a decade, offering insights and commentary on technology and geopolitics to help readers make sense of the constantly changing landscape and how it affects their investments. His readers appreciate his "tell it as it is" writing style, where he always offers a fresh new perspective on what's happening in the market and leaves nothing unsaid.