The impacts of COVID-19 likely mean flat electric vehicle (EV) sales this year, but a trio of new reports say the long-term outlook is for strong growth — which means the electric grid will need to respond.
New York City ratepayers shelled out $4.5 billion in capacity payments in the last decade to keep 16 fossil fuel-based peaking plants available, according to a recent analysis. Owners of the plants say they are already working to add energy storage and make the facilities more efficient and concede that running them less would help improve air quality.
With bipartisan support, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last week advanced a comprehensive energy storage package, reported as an amendment to the Better Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Act. Introduced by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the BEST Act would require the federal government to support energy storage research and demonstration projects. Along with the attached bills, it would open a standardized path for utilities to recover storage costs in federal rate proceedings. The measure now heads to the full Senate, where supporters say there is enthusiasm.
North Carolina regulators on Friday approved a solar+storage microgrid project proposed by Duke Energy, designed to help maintain reliable power for a small town called Hot Springs in the western part of the state. The project includes a 2 MW solar array and 4 MW lithium-ion battery, and will be Duke's first utility-scale solar+storage project for residential customers. The microgrid is a small part of Duke's broader plan to roll out more storage on its system.
A new partnership led by the New York Power Authority (NYPA) will focus on finding and assisting startup businesses focused on electric vehicle and energy storage technologies, aiming to help meet the state's Green New Deal goals, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D, announced yesterday. Dubbed the "NYPA Innovation Challenge," the partnership between the utility and New York University Tandon's Urban Future Lab will launch in May with an application deadline in June and winners announced a month later. The challenge will support NYPA's $250 million EVolveNY electric vehicle adoption initiative, as well as New York's goal to add 3 GW of battery storage by 2030.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday issued an order accepting tariff revisions proposed by ISO New England, aimed at allowing batteries and other storage technologies to more fully participate in the region's wholesale electricity markets. The revisions to the ISO's Market Rule 1 will become effective April 1, and will allow storage to be dispatched into real-time energy markets.
Ameren Missouri last week filed a $6.3 billion Smart Energy Plan with state regulators, sketching out an aggressive slate of projects the utility wants to complete in the next five years. The investments include $1 billion in projects slated for this year and $1 billion for wind energy in 2020. Ameren wants to modernize its electric grid, also adding more solar energy and battery storage to boost reliability, particularly in rural areas.
A new model of Colorado's energy mix shows consumers could save $250 million annually over a 10-year span if the state were to replace its coal plants with a mix of wind and solar, backed up by energy storage and natural gas. The report, commissioned by clean energy developer Community Energy and completed by Vibrant Clean Energy, also estimates the new resources would cut Colorado's state-wide annual carbon emissions from power generation by almost two-thirds. The analysis concludes its proposed mix of cleaner resources would save Colorado electric customers roughly $2.5 billion in net present value through 2040.
Let's be clear: Anything that can take the torturous rigidity out of utility procurements deserves an award. New York's Reforming the Energy Vision has been around a few years, and the state's efforts to reshape the utility sector are beginning to pay off. Plenty of states have followed suit, but New York's REV is a holistic reimagining of energy resources and the business models underpin the sector. While REV aims to bring about wholesale changes, one initiative within it is speeding the development of new resources and solutions while helping remake utility procurement processes.
Virginia released its annual 10-year energy plan on Tuesday, recommending development of 3 GW of solar and onshore wind by 2022, and 2 GW of offshore wind by 2028. Dominion Energy, the largest electric utility in the state, has partnered with Denmark's DONG Energy to develop a 12 MW Virginia offshore wind facility and officials say it could ultimately be expanded to serve more than 500,000 customers.
Johnson Controls announced Monday that it has signed a joint venture with a clean energy unit of Consolidated Edison, a deal aimed at helping expand the market for smart energy storage control systems developed by the company. Consolidated Edison Solutions, a subsidiary of Con Edison Clean Energy Business, will be the exclusive provider of storage to customers of Johnson Controls.
Utilities in the United States connected almost 217 MW / 524 MWh of energy storage capacity to the grid in 2017, and while those numbers were driven by utility-supply projects, the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) says the strongest growth is seen on the residential side. From 2016 to 2017, residential capacity additions grew by 202% in terms of MW, while non-residential additions grew by a modest 9% and utilities even saw the rate decline slightly, according to SEPA's 2018 Utility Energy Storage Market Snapshot, released last month. In terms of MWh, residential projects tallied an even more impressive growth rate: 317%, compared with 105% in the non-residential sector and 89% growth in utility storage.
Global infrastructure firm AECOM says it has begun construction on an energy storage system at Fort Carson, Colo., that will utilize a 4.25 MW/8.5 MWh lithium-ion battery developed by Lockheed Martin to help reduce energy costs and improve resilience at the base. Once completed, the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) will be the largest stand-alone commercially contracted battery at an army base, according to the developers. The behind-the-meter system work to reduce peak electricity demand.
The Nevada Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has approved NV Energy's first electric vehicle infrastructure program, authorizing $15 million to incentivize the development of publicly available charging stations. Along with the EV program, the utility can spend $5 million each for small and large energy storage incentives. Those programs are also new, and have not been initiated yet. NV Energy plans to get them running no later than Sept. 1.
Large energy storage projects paired with solar are key to Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) reaching its renewable goals — the utility expects to reach 70% by the end of next year. Last week, the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved a 19.3 MW solar facility and 70 MWh battery energy storage system to be located on the Pacific Missile Range Facility. AES Distributed Energy will build the project on land leased from the Department of Defense.
The California Pubic Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved five new storage projects totaling 83.5 MW / 135 MWh and a demand response program capable of contributing 4.5 MW as part of San Diego Gas and Electric's plan to add more renewables and improve grid reliability. Each of the lithium-ion battery storage facilities in San Diego and Orange counties is a four-hour battery to be developed by a different company. OhmConnect was tapped to manage the demand response program.
Colorado Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper signed legislation on Friday to encourage the installation of energy storage in the state and to integrate storage procurement mechanisms into utilities' long-term planning processes. House Bill 18-1270, also known as the "Energy Storage Procurement Act," sets a deadline of Feb. 1, 2019, for the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to develop procurement rules. Utilities will be able to file applications for rate-based projects by May 1, though they cannot exceed 15 MW.
New York announced its second large-scale renewables solicitation on Wednesday. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) estimated that it could drive up to $1.5 billion in green energy investments. The bids are expected to support the generation of 1.5 million MWh annually — roughly the annual energy consumption of 200,000 homes — contributing to the state's goal of reaching 50% renewable energy by 2030.
The Colorado Senate on Monday voted 26-9 on third reading to approve HB18-1270, which directs the development of mechanisms to enable investor-owned utilities to acquire energy storage systems, while restricting their size to 15 MW. Because amendments were added on the floor, it will need to be approved again by the House. The bill would direct state regulators to "establish mechanisms" for investor-owned electric utilities to procure energy storage systems. Some criteria would need to be satisfied, however.
A proposal to install 300 Tesla Powerwall batteries in homes in Lebanon, N.H., is just the latest example of utilities turning to distributed storage, as well as the growing battle to supply these Virtual Power Plants (VPP). Valley News reports Liberty Utilities tapped Tesla to supply the batteries, but the proceeding has grown as SunRun has called for a competitive bidding process to supply the batteries. The Liberty Utilities pilot will eventually be expanded to 1,000 customer homes.
San Diego Gas & Electric wants to add 166 MW of storage to its system disbursed between seven projects focused on emergency response services. Within the next 12 years, the utility says it will develop or interconnect more than 330 MW of energy storage to help keep the system reliable and integrate additional renewable energy. The utility's plan also includes an incentive program for nonprofit care facilities to install energy storage, called the Energy Storage Customer Program Pilot.
The California Public Utilities Commission last week approved new market rules for energy storage aimed at enabling the resources to stack incremental value and revenue streams through the delivery of multiple services to the wholesale market, distribution grid, transmission system and other venues. Regulators say the previous rules meant battery assets were unable to realize their full economic value, but the changes will help ensure correct pricing and improved economic viability.
The New York ISO yesterday released a new report, "The State of Storage," kicking off the process of developing a model for energy storage resources to participate in the state's wholesale markets. The roadmap lays out a three-phase plan that focuses on storage integration, optimization and aggregation. Bringing storage into wholesale markets could be accomplished by 2020, according to the timeline.
Rhode Island energy officials say the state's efforts to modernize its electric grid will be a "complex undertaking" as well as a "huge opportunity" that ultimately will help control costs, while creating a more resilient and cleaner system. The state's energy agencies Nov. 17 submitted to Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) a report outlining steps to overhaul Rhode Island's electrical grid, with a focus on controlling costs, integrating more green power, improving service and overhauling utility incentive models.
