Page 22 - ESJ – ENERGY STORAGE JOURNAL

COVER STORY: US STATES TO WATCHY: US STATES TO WATCH
COVER STOR

Trumping the president

As countries decarbonize their transport and power systems
a notable exception from the Paris agreement is the US.
But president Trump’s decision to leave the global initiative
hasn’t stopped many US states from pushing ahead with their

own renewable power and energy storage agendas,
as Paul Crompton finds out.

olar power capacity is growing. In Three of those four states have an-
the past 15 years cheaper PV pan- nounced overall storage deployment tar-
els, tariffs and enthusiasm from end- gets and have developed programs to sup-
Susers and project developers have all port their overarching deployment goal.
contributed to the industry growing from While Hawaii has no such firm storage
a small group of start-ups to a global busi- targets, it is growing rapidly thanks to
ness. Last year the US installed just under market conditions. It’s worth noting Or-
Last year the US 11GW of grid-scale solar, bringing the egon has a storage target of a minimum
country’s total to around 62GW. The So-
of 10MWh and maximum of 1% of peak
installed just under lar Energy Industries Association predicts load for both utilities, and New Jersey has
11GW of grid-scale more than 15GW of PV capacity will be a 2GW storage goal.
Innovative market-based mechanisms
installed annually by 2024.
solar, bringing the The issue today is not too little renew- such as non-wires alternative competitive
country’s total to able generated power, but too much. solicitations (New York) and a first-of-a-
kind clean peak standard (Massachusetts),
The short-term answer has been curtail-
around 62GW ment — in the first four months of this as well as incentive programs, are forging
year alone California ‘wasted’ more than the path to ESS adoption, Goldberger says.
200,000MWh of wind and solar power. In total, 29 states are pushing ahead with
The obvious answer, to some, is battery their own renewable power standards, de-
energy storage systems. But just like so- spite both president Donald Trump’s with-
lar a decade go, individual states are still drawal of the US from its Paris Agreement
working out how to make storage work commitments, and reports the world’s
through tariffs, regulations and policy. biggest oil and gas producer will ramp up
The Solar Energy Last year, the US deployed production, rather than decrease it, in the
Industries Association 311MW/777MWh of both front-of-meter next decade.
and behind-the-meter storage, 80% more
“This is how I look at it,” says Sue Babi-
predicts more than than 2017, according to Wood Macken- nec, Argonne National Laboratory pro-
15GW of PV capacity zie’s U.S. Energy Storage Monitor 2018 gram lead – grid storage, “In the US the
thing that’s primarily driving the market
YIR and Q1 2019 report.
will be installed California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and is renewables. The grid of the future will
annually by 2024 New York Energy are leading the way have to integrate renewables, while being
when it comes to ESS adoption, with a cyber secure. But for renewables integra-
number of other states pursuing storage tion, in the 29 states that have renewable
on straight economics. “We expect that goals, there are very few that have stand
trend to continue to put new states on the alone energy storage.”
map”, says Nitzan Goldberger, the Energy Last year, the California Energy Com-
Storage Associations’ state policy director. mission approved a law that requires all
Unsurprisingly, California, a first-mover new build homes to be fitted with rooftop
state with solar, is leading the way; but PV panels as the state moves toward its
New York, Hawaii and Massachusetts goal of 50% renewables in its energy mix
are expected to lead growth in the com- by 2030 and reducing greenhouse gasses
ing years in terms of market share for both by 40% from 1990 levels in the same time
FTM and BTM applications. frame.

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