ESA targets 100 GW new storage by 2030 amid push for tax credit, market integration challenges25 Aug 2020 17:32
Dive Brief: Aug. 25, 2020
The U.S. Energy Storage Association (ESA) is aiming to have 100 GW of new energy storage deployed in the U.S. by the end of this decade, a goal that the association says will produce 200,000 new jobs by 2030.
Energy storage is "the next great chapter in a story of American energy innovation," Department of Energy (DOE) Deputy Secretary Mark Menezes said at the virtual ESA Energy Storage Annual Conference and Expo on Monday. The DOE is investing heavily in storage research and development, because of its possibilities for grid flexibility and reliability, as well as global competition to develop and deploy these technologies, he said.
ESA also put out a white paper outlining the path to that 100 GW goal, which includes policy support — like an investment tax credit for standalone storage facilities, as well as efforts to remove barriers to market participation.
Dive Insight:
In 2017, ESA outlined a goal to achieve 35 GW of new energy storage in the U.S. by 2025, including a mix of batteries, pumped hydro and other technologies. In an accompanying report, the association estimated that that goal would lead to $4 billion in cumulative operational cost savings, based on an analysis of the electricity system conducted with Navigant, now Guidehouse.
Storage deployments have slightly lagged compared to that scenario’s projections, however, for several reasons — including tariffs on Chinese goods, the White House executive order on protecting the bulk power system, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, according to ESA. However, the association also pointed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Order 841, issued in 2018, as well as state level policies that have "poised energy storage for accelerated growth in the coming years."
In June, the ESA worked with the American Wind Energy Association, the National Hydropower Association and the Solar Energy Industries Association to establish a "shared vision" wherein 50% of electricity generation in the country would be derived from solar, wind and hydroelectric resources by 2030.
"In a world with policies that support 50% of renewable generation, 100 GW of new storage is entirely likely and probably necessary," Kelly Speakes-Backman, CEO of ESA, said at the conference.
"100 GW will reduce operating costs of the grid, and therefore lower consumer cost. It’ll avoid outages with increased resiliency and reliability. It’ll improve the air we breathe, and it’ll create about 200,000 new jobs by 2030," she added.
The projection of 200,000 jobs is based on the expectation that 100 GW of new storage will equate to a range of 15 GW to 20 GW of annual installations in 2030, at a rate of 10 jobs per MW installed.
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