Energy storage has been taking root across the country, but coastal states, such as California, Massachusetts and Oregon, have taken the lead in implementing related policies. That could change as states such as Colorado and Nevada move closer to potentially ambitious policies to support energy storage.
Rising renewable penetration combined with falling costs for lithium-ion batteries is driving many states to explore policies that encourage energy storage.
New Jersey became the most recent state to adopt an energy storage target when Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in May signed a bill that establishes a 2,000 MW by 2030 target. And in New York, the Public Service Commission is in the process of setting an energy storage target that some observers say could end up as high as 3,000 MW by 2030.
But Arizona could be the next state to adopt an energy storage goal, if Commissioner Andy Tobin has his way.
“Energy storage is high on my list,” Tobin told Utility Dive.
The man with the plan
The Energy Modernization Plan that Tobin released in January includes a recommended target for 3,000 MW of energy storage deployed by 2030. The plan would have the state be powered by 80% clean energy by 2050, from 15% by 2025, and directs the investor owned utilities to build 60 MW of biomass plants for service by 2022.
The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) “could be voting on the plan by January or February,” Tobin said.
“We thought we had enough votes” to put it on the docket, Tobin said at the commission last month. Instead, the ACC decided to do a study on the financial impact of the plan. That study, being prepared by the state’s Residential Utility Consumer Office, should be ready in about two weeks.
Tobin wants to see the adoption of his plan ahead of the next fire season, as the biomass plant component could burn fuel from Arizona’s forests and lessen the devastation of forest fires.
Tobin is optimistic, noting that some commissioners are already on board.
The state’s investor-owned utilities have responded to the proposed energy plan with proposals for energy storage projects, according to Tobin. Tucson Electric Power is considering participating in the 2,000 MW Big Chino Valley Pumped Storage Hydroelectric project proposed by ITC Grid Development. And Arizona Public Service has proposed a solar-plus-storage project that includes a 50 MW, 135 MWh battery to serve a 65 MW solar farm.
Following suit
In addition to the progress in Arizona and New York, Timothy Fox, vice president at ClearView Energy Partners, is also tracking developments in Nevada where a regulatory proceeding is underway to create a storage target pursuant to S.B. 204, enacted last spring.
GTM Research also recently began tracking Nevada and Colorado for energy storage policies.
“There are some large utility projects going on” in Nevada, Brett Simon, senior energy storage analyst at GTM Research, told Utility Dive. The state’s constant shifts on net metering policies for solar power are driving interest in residential storage that can be used to time shift solar power generation from mid-day to the evening, he said.
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