Despite significant advances in distributed renewable energy systems (DRES), the technology still faces several substantial challenges that prevent the large-scale adoption of these systems into a country’s energy sector. The intermittency of renewables, uncertainties associated with real-time multi-horizon weather and load forecasts, and lack of comprehensive control systems are among the main technical and regulatory challenges for the real-world adoption of DRES. This paper outlines the current state of knowledge in the real-world operation of DRES and also describes pathways and methodologies that enable and facilitate the uptake of DRES in a country’s energy sector.