A massive amount of data is collected every day about how we use energy. But, that information isn’t made widely available to the innovators and entrepreneurs who could use it to help households improve energy efficiency—namely, because of privacy and other concerns. How can the legal barriers be removed to unleash this data?
The energy landscape is in a state of transition, with a technological revolution unlocking new resources like shale and spurring the costs of renewable resources like solar and wind to plummet. But the next phase of this transition is arguable the most important, and it centers on consumers. Or, more specifically, how consumers choose to share massive amounts of data about their energy use. Access to consumer data could bring about as much as $580 billion in value annually, all while improving efficiency and cutting emissions. But there are real obstacles to unleashing this future. Is there a way forward? Host Sam Ori talks with UChicago Law’s Mark Templeton about reducing the legal barriers.