ENERGY STORAGE
Energy storage initiatives are moving forward at a swift pace to complement clean energy policies as batteries can facilitate the integration of diverse generation technologies and address grid stability. With improving economics, there is a growing discussion on the role of energy storage as a grid asset to foster reliability and optimize renewables to meet ambitious clean energy goals.
Declining costs, evolving technology, and changing grid needs are accelerating the pace of deployment of battery storage projects. Regulators seek to spur investments to leverage the multiple benefits of batteries, including the ability to add large amounts of intermittent renewable generation to the system, and to defer or eliminate the need to build new transmission…...
Amid gigawatt-scale goals for energy storage, U.S. state policies are evolving to create more opportunities for the technology. Storage is poised to play an integral role in the changing resource mix as more states pursue zero-carbon goals, driving the need for innovative policy initiatives and programs that optimize renewable energy sources and enhance grid reliability.
In a major victory for the energy storage industry, a federal court affirmed that battery installations connected to the distribution grid must have the opportunity to access wholesale power markets. The move comes as federal regulators are examining the growing interest in hybrid resources, with battery technology seen as an important tool in integrating other resources to the grid. The affirmation bodes well for expanding wholesale market access to distributed energy resources.
A growing number of states across the U.S. are amping up energy storage to complement the drive towards clean energy as batteries can help integrate diverse generation technologies and stabilize the grid. State commitments to procure battery storage capacity now top 11 gigawatts, following targets established by Nevada and Virginia this year.
More U.S. states are exploring programs and policies to leverage the application of battery storage for the benefit of the power grid and to examine how the technology may provide value to consumers. Studies and investigations are intended to help craft initiatives that can tap the resource for multiple applications ranging from offsetting peak loads, supporting renewable integration and stabilizing the distribution system, to providing peaking capacity and replacing fossil generation.
Battery storage has long held the promise of eventually replacing the costliest, most-polluting fossil-fuel fired generators that are used to meet surging electricity demand on the grid. That day may now be upon us as costs of batteries plummet and as state regulators from Massachusetts to Arizona weigh new incentives for the technology.
Battery storage is no longer just paving the way for greater integration of renewables onto the grid. The technology is now ushering in larger utility-scale solar and wind projects with diverse configurations. Utility proposals to develop massive storage projects in tandem with renewables are becoming more common as intermittent wind and solar continue to produce a growing share of power generation. Aggressive state and utility decarbonization goals are also driving the need for cost-effective batteries.
Rep. Michael Doyle, a Democrat representing Pennsylvania, introduced legislation on April 4 that would expand the solar investment tax credit to include energy storage technology for utilities, businesses, and homes. The current tax code provides the credit for battery technologies paired with a solar installations. (H.R.2096) More than 100 House Democrats, led by Congresswoman Haley…...
The Maryland legislature on March 28 approved a measure that would extend the state’s community solar pilot through 2024 and remove the limit on the maximum number of subscribers in the program. The legislation would also include annually increasing capacity levels for each program category, modifying the current requirement that allows restrictions to enable regulators…...
U.S. states are plowing ahead in setting market compensation rules for battery technology, laying the foundation for future growth of the fast-maturing technology in retail and wholesale markets. While progressive states California, New York and Massachusetts are charging ahead in how to value the resource, others are still grappling with how to regulate a system that fails to fit squarely in any one box and that raises a range of jurisdictional and ownership questions.
Rocky Mountain Power, a division of PacifiCorp, proposed three innovative utility programs to explore vehicle-to-grid power flow management, study the value of behind-the-meter grid optimized solar-plus-battery installations, and improve outage response by deploying line sensor technology on distribution circuits, according to a March 8 filing with the Utah Public Service Commission. The initiatives form the…...