California Governor Gavin Newsom will need to hit the ground running if he wants his state to reach its historically ambitious goal of zero net carbon emissions by 2045. New York has its work cut out, too, as it aims to hit the same mark by 2040. Motivated by these newly minted climate policies, many other states are ramping up their emissions targets as well.
But no state will be able to reach its goal without addressing one crucial tool: energy storage.
Across the United States, thousands of people have installed batteries like the Tesla Powerwall in their homes, while a few states, such as California, New York, and Massachusetts, have pioneered grid-scale battery projects. These batteries store energy to be used later, at peak demand times or during other shortages.
The push for energy storage promises big environmental benefits. With enough capacity, generators of electricity can tap into their sources of renewable electricity, hold onto it, and use it when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing. It is a way to use carbon-free energy instead of fossil fuels, and reduce electricity generators’ emissions of destructive, climate-changing greenhouse gases.
But the reality is more complicated than this rosy picture would suggest. Energy storage projects, regardless of upgrades to technology and infrastructure, must be paired with the right policies. Without such policies, society risks increasing greenhouse gas emissions, rather than decreasing them. As climate threats mount and the window to act is beginning to close, states need to adopt desirable energy storage policies as quickly as possible.
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