Energy Storage at the Distribution Level – Technologies, Costs and Applications
At present, the USA is likely to continue its lead the market at the country level. The grid in the USA is aging and it resulted in large-scale power interruptions, forcing the government and utilities to adopt measures to diversify and strengthen the country’s power network. The market for storage in the USA is largely influenced by state policies, wholesale market rules, and retail rates. Several states such as California, Hawaii, Ohio, Illinois, and Texas are prominent markets for battery deployment. Other states such as Utah, Oregon, Massachusetts, and New York have introduced mandates and targets related to energy storage, which is expected to aid growth in the market. Despite strong projections, the USA market faces several challenges. The deployment of batteries is highly concentrated in a few states and 24 states have mandates for storage. California State is moving ahead of all other states in the USA through massive deployments. The State is the home of the largest lithium-ion batteries, in Tehachapi CA (8MW/32MWh battery). Recently, the government extended the subsidy program for energy storage and is also planning to introduce a new mandate, increasing the storage capacity deployed in the State. The Tesla and Panasonic giga-factory in the USA has been drawing global attention for its massive scale, as the plan is to manufacture 35 GWh of cells and 50 GWh of battery packs annually by 2020. There is a growing requirement for longer-duration storage systems, which provide capacity and load shifting in front of the meter. The residential and commercial sectors are also increasing their utilization of storage, particularly in states with high retail tariffs and poor grid infrastructure. California and Hawaii are two states with the largest market for residential battery storage. New York, New Jersey, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and Texas, among other states, have targeted new capacity construction for storage to meet their renewable energy target commitments. The USA pioneered the extensive utilization of battery technologies on a large scale. As of 2018, 24 states and the District of Columbia introduced policies related to energy storage related to utilityscale including transmission, distribution, and utility-scale generation. Table 4 outlines relevant policies within the USA market. TABLE 4: Policies within the USA market
Policy
Policy source
Effective date
Texas Senate Bill 943
Texas Legislature
Sep 2011
Self-Generation Incentive Program
California Public Utilities Commission
Jan 2010
California Assembly Bill 1150
California Legislature
Jan 2012
California Assembly Bill 2514
California Legislature
Jan 2011
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order 719
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
Dec 2008
Frequency Regulation Compensation in the Organized Wholesale Power Markets
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
Dec 2011
Storage Act of 2011
US Congress
Project Number 39657
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
22
Dec 2011
