California is on the cusp of a dramatic jump in deploying cost-saving, climate-solving technology in the form of customer-sited energy storage, but the industry needs help cutting red tape that keeps the cost of the technology unnecessarily high for customers.
Energy storage helps electricity customers and the electric grid in many ways: It reduces monthly bills; delivers grid services such as peak reduction, emergency backup and smoothing out the increasing share of renewable energy production; and it enables California to keep the lights on while reaching our clean energy goals.
The state has recently passed a number of policies that could deploy thousands of energy storage projects in the next several years, such as the Self-Generation Incentive Program, storage and renewable energy procurement targets for each of the investor-owned utilities (IOUs), and the AB 2868 authority given to IOUs to accelerate widespread deployment of energy storage.
But most California cities and counties — less experienced with the new technology and the relevant codes and standards — issue permits for energy storage projects in inconsistent processes with a broad range of permit fees.
Developers spend a great deal of time with repeated travel to deliver materials in person, to submit “wet stamps” on minor revisions of plans, and to complete reviews by unrelated agencies — all of which drive up installation costs for the customer.
Moreover, local jurisdictions are largely unaware that the storage industry and fire protection professionals have collaborated on a comprehensive forthcoming 2018 standard for energy storage fire safety, the NFPA 855, as well as a wealth of product safety standards.
A new bill to clarify good permitting practices and to make permits and related fees more consistent was signed by Governor Jerry Brown September 30.
The fact that the bill, AB 546, passed unanimously with bipartisan support shows policymakers’ clear intent to give customers access to this valuable new technology and to arm cities and counties with clear information on how best to permit energy storage projects.
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