We often hear that energy storage is a few years behind the solar industry. Comparing these industries’ respective trade shows helpfully illustrates this point.
Solar Power International drew 18,000 people to Las Vegas in September, with panels sprawling throughout the convention center and two massive expo floors. There were espresso bars, two-story display stands and plenty of lights, shiny things and after-parties at swanky Vegas nightclubs.
By contrast, the 2,000-person Energy Storage North America in San Diego last week felt quiet and provincial, closer to a hometown parade than a county fair. The expo had some familiar names from SPI, but focused more on fostering conversations between like-minded storage wonks than on wowing an audience with bells and whistles.
Many of the conversations at the conference dealt with how to put storage on track to where the solar industry is now. Most of the air time went to addressing policy and regulatory obstacles so that the existing storage technologies can get paid for the services they provide. There weren’t any earth-shaking revelations, but a steady march toward the boom that the industry and its observers have predicted.
Here are a few of the insights stumbled upon while wandering the halls.
Massachusetts storage companies are getting fired up
At the state level, California has long dominated the storage game, having passed the first statewide storage mandate in the U.S. back in 2013. Employment in the storage industry is correspondingly concentrated in California.
This summer, the Massachusetts legislature authorized the state’s Department of Energy Resources to decide if it thinks a target would make sense. That same department released a study last month saying that up to 1,766 megawatts of storage capacity would provide a net benefit to ratepayers, so chances are good that a target will become reality.
This, plus New York City’s new 100-megawatt storage target, creates the strong possibility of a high-growth market in New England. There’s already a cleantech hub around Boston, and companies based there will be well placed to nab new contracts. The opening of a new market there could create space for new companies to jump in as well.
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