a16z: Decentralized Energy — Reading List

Author: Guy Wuollet, a16z Crypto Partner; Translation: Golden Finance xiaozou

In 2020, I was also a member of our Crypto Startup School (now part of our CSX Venture Accelerator), focusing on the development of a decentralized Internet service provider project. I named the project dISP (decentralized Internet Service Provider), and I thought about how to apply the principle of incentive decentralization to the core Internet infrastructure.

However, for various reasons, dISP did not go as planned, and I later joined the Protocol Labs research team to focus on related work. During that time, I first learned about decentralized energy. I learned about this in another project of our team, which studied the theme of how cryptocurrency can transform our energy infrastructure. In the years since, I have been fascinated by decentralized energy and learned much more about the power grid than I expected.

Electricity is a resource that cannot be compared to anything else. Comparing it to the flow of water in a pipe, or the flow of information on the internet, isn’t quite right. Energy—the stuff that electricity delivers—is everywhere, all the time. Electrons are used the moment they’re created, and electricity is hard to move or store. These properties make the grid a unique network.

Still, you can learn a lot about network design from the specifics of energy. The history of the U.S. electric grid is very instructive. The U.S. grid is a marvel that was far ahead of its time. We take its architecture for granted—interoperable frequencies, voltages, and currents—but the results could have been very different. It was only by a series of accidents that we have the grid we have today.

I believe decentralized energy is a worthy pursuit in its own right: it’s a severely underappreciated category of crypto projects, and an unexplored frontier for anyone interested in the web. Even if you’re not interested in the details of virtual power transformers and relays, familiarity with the space will help us understand the networks that power our daily lives.

Here is a list of recommendations for books, blogs, podcasts, reports, and code that got me interested in crypto-related energy and helped me deepen my understanding.

1, Learn about decentralized energy: a reading list

Protocol Labs's Decentralized Energy Project (https://research.protocol.ai/blog/2021/decentralized-energy-project-recap/) got me interested in this category and, as far as I know, has done the best early work.

• Hello from the Decentralized Energy Project: Blog, https://research.protocol.ai/blog/2020/hello-from- the-decentralized-energy-project/

• Microgrids: Article, https://research.protocol.ai/publications/microgrids/

• Energy Pricing: Article, https://research.protocol.ai/publications/energy-pricing/

• U.S. Energy Policy and Market Design: Article, https://research.protocol.ai/publications/u.s.-energy-policy-and-market-design/

• Decentralized Energy Grid: A Protocol Labs Independent Research Project: Video, https://research.protocol.ai/talks/decentralized-energy-grid-a-protocol-labs-independent-research-project/

Escape Velocity Ventures (EV3, https://ev3.xyz/) has written some of the best market research on cryptocurrency, and their work on decentralized energy is no exception.

• DePIN Can Rebuild the Grid From the Bottom Up: Commentary article, https://www.coindesk.com/opinion/2024/06/28/depin-can-rebuild-the-grid-from-the-bottom-up/amp/

a16z investment partner Ryan McEntush is one of the smartest people I know, and his energy-related articles continually inspire me to be extremely optimistic about the future of the U.S. power grid.

• Decentralizing the Energy Grid: Blog, https://a16z.com/decentralizing-the-electric-grid/

• Fraying Wires: the Decentralization of the Energy Grid: Blog, https://a16z.com/podcast/fraying-wires-the-decentralization-of-the-electric-grid/

Rooftop Solar and Home Batteries (blog, https://www.volts.wtf/p/rooftop-solar-and-home-batteries): How solar energy as a distributed energy source contributes to energy and why it is important.

Inflation Reduction Act Guide for Homeowners  (Blog, https://godaylight.com/the-inflation-reduction-act-for-homeowners-a-simple-guide/)

• Guide to the Inflation Reduction Act (report): Provides a detailed analysis of recent regulation that is relevant to many homeowners and provides examples of how regulation can effectively affect market structure.

Lessons from Plaid for a future energy unicorn (blog, https://www.ctvc.co/lessons-from-plaid-for-a-future/): Explores composability between energy devices and why it’s so important.

Buildings as Power Plants (blog, https://newsletter.equal.vc/p/buildings-as-power-plants): A great explanation of why virtual power plants are important, and how we would go about building them from the ground up.

Age of Miracles (podcast; blog): Packy McCormick is always inspiring, but his recent work on nuclear energy makes one of the clearest arguments for more nuclear and a brighter future.

Tesla Master Plan Part 3 (Report, https://www.tesla.com/ns_videos/Tesla-Master-Plan-Part-3.pdf): Tesla plans to solve the energy crisis through electrification.

3, Understand the Big Picture: Book List

• Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World, by Jonnes. (2004)

A gripping story about the battle for power supremacy. If you want to understand the great technological battles—the early car race, the browser war, or the battle for smart contract platform supremacy—you’ll love this book.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Empires-Light-Jill-Jonnes/dp/0375758844

• The Grid: The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy Future, by Gretchen Bakke. (2016)

A brilliant overview of our modern grid and how we got to where we are today. （有声读物）

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grid-Fraying-Between-Americans-Energy-ebook/dp/B01DM9Q6CQ

• Handbook on Electricity Markets，作者：Jean-Michel Glachant、Paul L. Joskow、Michael G. Pollitt（2021）

https://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Electricity-Markets-Jean-Michel-Glachant/dp/178897994X