The energy storage industry is booming. This is not new news — the up-and-coming sector has been on a swift upward trajectory for quite a while, but now there are some new developments in the works that are set to catapult the industry into new levels of success. Last year, Oilprice reported that the energy storage industry was “exploding” as grid-connected energy storage deployments had increased significantly around the globe with a hefty annual compound annual growth rate of “74% worldwide in the years 2013 to 2018, with a ‘boom’ in deployment figures expected over the next five years,” according to Energy Storage News reporting based on Wood Mackenzie analysis in April.

Asia has been at the helm of this book, with China poised to dominate the energy storage market, as its “cumulative energy storage capacity is projected to skyrocket from 489 megawatts (MW) or 843 megawatt-hours (MWh) in 2017 to 12.5 gigawatts (GW) or 32.1GWh in 2024,” an impressive increase ”in the installed base of 25 times.” This puts China on track to become the single biggest energy storage market in the Asia Pacific region by 2024, according to reporting by British data analysis and consultancy group Wood Mackenzie.

While Asia is at the helm of the global energy storage market, however, the United States is also set to significantly increase its own capacity in the coming years and significantly contribute to the global energy storage boom, with China and the U.S. “set to dominate with over 54% of the market by 2024 shared between them.”

And the boom is just beginning. According to WoodMac’s reporting, “the ancillary services market will be transitioning from a basic compensation mechanism to a market integrated with spot energy prices by 2020. That, along with maturity in technology and subsequent cost reduction, are key factors that will contribute to the exponential growth in the nation’s energy storage market through to 2024.” We’re already starting to see major developments for some of these revolutionary tech improvements, from solid-state batteries and green hydrogen solutions to bio-based materials such as shrimp shells.

Related: New Tech Puts Lithium Batteries Back In The Energy Storage Race

And now, just last week, the energy storage industry received yet another massive boost from the United States’ federal appeals court in a landmark decision. “In a victory for the energy storage industry, a federal appeals court has upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Order 841,” Wood Mackenzie’s Greentech Media reported last week, “clearing the way for transmission grid operators across the country to open their markets to energy storage, including aggregated batteries connected at the distribution grid or behind customers’ meters.”

Despite significant growth of the energy storage market in recent years, the process of connecting this technology to the electricity grid remains complex and unclear in many states across the U.S.​ A new project​, supported by a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy S​olar Energy Technologies Office,​ aims to simplify the interconnection process for energy storage.

The project team, led by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), will ​identify and develop solutions to regulatory and technical barriers in the interconnection process of standalone energy storage and solar + storage projects​. From there, the team will create a nationally applicable toolkit of solutions that apply to diverse states and markets. Extensive training and educational outreach will drive adoption of the resulting solutions in a majority of states. Ultimately, the project aims to reduce the costs and time to process interconnection applications and interconnect energy storage and solar-plus-storage systems safely to the distribution grid.

In addition to IREC, the project team includes the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the Energy Storage Association (ESA), the California Solar & Storage Association (CALSSA), utilities New Hampshire Electric Cooperative Inc. (NHEC) and PacifiCorp, and law firm Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger, LLP (SMW).

“In many states, if you propose a system with solar + storage, the rules about how to interconnect to the grid are not at all clear,” explained ​Larry Sherwood, IREC president and CEO​. “That creates a lot of uncertainty for developers, which increases costs and may scare them away from certain markets. As a result, the full benefits of storage are not realized. Establishing best practices for the interconnection of storage to the grid is critical to sustaining market growth and enabling significant clean energy deployment.”

“Stand-alone energy storage and solar + storage systems provide significant potential for increased grid reliability and resilience,” said ​Arshad Mansoor, president of EPRI​. “We look forward to applying our technical expertise to help address grid interconnection challenges.”

Connecticut has launched three new proceedings to explore grid modernization policies that are likely to be of interest to the microgrid community.

Underway before the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), the three policy tracks will look at reliability and system resilience metrics and targets, non-wires alternatives, and the state’s clean and renewable energy program.

They are part of Connecticut’s larger effort to create a framework for an “equitable modern grid,” released by PURA in October and described as a way to lead “by example and show that economic and environmental objectives are not mutually exclusive.” (Docket No. 17-12-03 Interim Decision).

The three topics are among 11 the regulatory authority is investigating in its grid modernization efforts. Six of the topics are further along in the multi-prong proceeding. They cover energy affordability, electric storage, advanced metering infrastructure, zero emissions vehicles, innovation pilots, and interconnection standards.

The regulatory authority in May released requests for proposals and requests for program designs for the six topics. Proposal deadlines run through July 31.

After it receives responses from the six solicitations, the authority will create a straw proposal, which it will open to comment, before releasing a final decision.

Coming up later in the process — what PURA calls Phase III — are the latest three topics:

• Resilience metrics and targets (Docket No. 17-12-03RE08)
• Non-wires alternatives (Docket No. 17-12-03RE07)
• The state’s clean and renewable energy program (Docket No. 17-12-03RE09)

The regulatory authority seeks industry experts to provide information and comment on the three topics. Those who want to participate must file a petition by July 31.

US utility firm PacifiCorp has launched its largest request for proposals for energy projects yet, seeking bids for more than 1.8GW of new solar and 600MW of battery energy storage.

The firm, which owns utilities Pacific Power and Rocky Mountain Power, issued the RFP as part of its latest Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) which outlines its intent to massively scale up its renewable energy capacity.

Alongside 1,920MW of wind, PacifiCorp wants to add 1,823MW of solar and 595MW of battery energy storage to its portfolio by the end of 2023, an increase it described as “significant” compared to its current output.

The RFP, which is open now, will accept bids of different types and resource structures, including power purchase agreements and those entailing build-transfer contracts. Projects must be able to achieve operation by the end of 2024, and more detail on the RFP is available here.

Rick Link, vice president of resource planning at PacifiCorp, said the RFP was a “catalyst” to help realise an “affordable, reliable and increasingly sustainable” power system.

PacifiCorp, which is owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Group, operates in US states including California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming.

US utilities and their respective IRPs have proven to be a particularly rich vein for solar developers of late, with numerous companies outlining more ambitious plans for solar and other renewables as they look to decarbonise their power supplies.

Late last month Arizona’s Tucson Electric Power revealed plans to derive 70% of its power from solar and wind by 2035, with Indiana utility Vectren having outlined plans to replace nearly 700MW of coal generation with renewables.

The Mitsubishi Electric battery energy storage system (BESS) is a scalable, purpose-built battery solution that includes all of the balance of system (BOS) equipment that can be modified to meet the customers’ requirements. In addition to some of the world’s largest energy storage systems currently operating in Japan, Mitsubishi Electric now has completed battery energy storage projects in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. With extensive experience in project completion, Mitsubishi Electric continues to be an industry leader by providing turnkey solutions. Technologies such as BESS, static var compensators (SVC), and static synchronous compensators (STATCOM) are offered with optimized equipment design, systems planning, controls and protection design, project management, and construction services. Today, Mitsubishi Electric supports an installed base of nearly 200 power electronics projects globally.

The Mitsubishi Electric Power Products Inc. (MEPPI) Renewables Energy Solution Team leverages core competencies of project execution and engineering to partner with utility and developer customers on clean-energy projects. Utility-scale storage projects typically carry plenty of risk, but MEPPI offers a robust technology, the bankability of a financially-strong parent organization, a full warranty for all equipment, as well as long-term performance guarantees and service contracts. These Renewable Energy Solutions can be supplied as equipment only up to full turnkey options with project requirements and safety in mind.

MEPPI is proud to offer one of the most energy dense battery solutions utilizing Lithium-Ion (LFP) technology that meets UL9540A. This test certification was achieved at the cell, module, and system level for the safe installation of stationary energy storage. These considerations align with MEPPI’s goal to provide best-in-class equipment that meets or exceeds industry safety standards.

In a victory for the energy storage industry, a federal appeals court has upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Order 841, clearing the way for transmission grid operators across the country to open their markets to energy storage, including aggregated batteries connected at the distribution grid or behind customers’ meters.

Friday’s court opinion (PDF) declared that FERC has jurisdiction over how energy storage interacts with the interstate transmission markets it regulates, even if those systems are interconnected to the grid under regulations set by the states.

The court also rejected arguments by utility groups and state utility regulators seeking to opt out of allowing energy storage resources (ESRs) to participate under Order 841, which allows for units as small as 100 kilowatts to access wholesale markets.

Instead, the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed with FERC’s contention that “[k]eeping the gates open to all types of ESRs — regardless of their interconnection points in the electric energy systems — ensures that technological advances in energy storage are fully realized in the marketplace, and efficient energy storage leads to greater competition, thereby reducing wholesale rates.”

Beyond helping to make wholesale markets more efficient, Order 841 has started to open new energy storage opportunities in grid markets in New England and New York. The rest of the country’s transmission grid operators, which manage wholesale markets serving roughly two-thirds of the country’s electricity customers, are creating their own Order 841 implementation plans.

Wood Mackenzie predicts that Order 841 will open up new opportunities for energy storage developers and aggregators that have primarily relied on state-by-state energy storage mandates and market opportunities to date. While energy storage industry groups have fought against some grid operators’ interpretation of Order 841, they’ve also hailed its broader potential benefits.

“This is an enormous step for energy storage, with the affirmation that energy storage connected at the distribution level must have the option to access wholesale markets, allowing homes and businesses to contribute to the resiliency, efficiency, sustainability, and affordability of the grid,” Kelly Speakes-Backman, chief executive of the Energy Storage Association, said in an email.

The threat of chronic blackouts is sparking a rush to install battery backup systems as California homeowners try to avoid disruptive power cuts related to wildfires.

Blackouts are increasingly a part of life as Pacific Gas and Electric Co. strives to avoid igniting deadly blazes with aging equipment. At fault for some of the state’s worst wildfires, the utility shut off power nine times between June and October last year in Northern California. Some blackouts lasted for days, and at least one affected more than a million people.

The utility plans to use shut-offs for years as it upgrades its system (Climatewire, July 1). It’s pledged to reduce their scope and restore power more quickly.

But many residents aren’t reassured.

Nitsa Lallas and husband Ignacio Arribas, who live in the San Francisco suburb of Mill Valley, are getting two Tesla Powerwalls installed this week to store power from the solar panels on their 2,600-square-foot house.

“The primary trigger for us was when it became clear that these power shut-offs were part of the plan for the foreseeable future,” Lallas said. “PG&E was telling customers to expect them. … It appeared to us that every fire season, we would have multiple shut-offs, and that that would happen for multiple years.”

They’re not alone. Permit applications for energy storage projects are surging, according to local officials. In Sonoma County, about 80 miles north of San Francisco, 174 permits were issued in the first half of this year. That eclipsed the 161 permits that were approved in all of 2019.

Interest has boomed with advancing storage technology and since it became clear that blackouts will persist. The county issued 76 permits in 2018, and 47 in 2017, said Domenica Giovannini, policy manager for Sonoma County.

Distributed energy storage facilities in the US are set to join wholesale markets and compete to provide grid services after what’s described as the “single most important act” for the energy transition so far.

The United States Court of Appeal in the District of Columbia ruled last week against petitioning from the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and others which sought to prevent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order 841 from passing.

In doing so and allowing Order 841 to pass, distributed energy storage units can now compete with other assets, including fossil fuel resources, to provide grid services in wholesale markets.

FERC chairman Neil Chatterjee lauded the decision when it was handed down late last week, adding his consideration that it would be regarded as the “single most important act we could take to ensure a smooth transition to a new clean energy future.”

“…I’m extremely pleased that the DC Circuit denied the petitions challenging Order 841 on jurisdictional grounds and upheld our orders on the merits. The court found our actions to be well within our statutory authority,” Chatterjee said, adding that Order 841 and removing barriers for energy storage technologies had long been one of his top priorities as FERC chairman.

Low cost, large-scale energy storage is the key to accelerating the renewable energy revolution, and now shrimp have been enlisted in the cause. The aim is to push down the cost of flow batteries by using bio-based materials such as shrimp shells. That would help ramp up the transition out of fossil fuels and into clean power, thus saving the planet in time to avert a climate catastrophe. Thank you, shrimp. Wait, what is a flow battery?

Shrimp (May) Be The Key to Energy Storage That Flows
We’ll get to that flow battery thing in a minute. First let’s clarify the news about shrimp shells and energy storage, which has been zooming all over the Intertubes in recent days.

The news involves research published in April at ACS Sustainable Chemical Engineering under the title, “Exploration of Biomass-Derived Activated Carbons for Use in Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries.”

The research team did not exactly determine that shrimp shells are the best bio-based material for flow batteries. What they did was compare shrimp shells to pine wood, in order to develop a method for determining the performance of a wide variety of bio-based materials and develop a general set of design principles.

Got all that? Good! Shrimp could still come out on top, but shrimp shells are just one of many bio-based sources that could be used to produce the activated carbon used in flow batteries.

The bio-based approach is relatively new, so before anybody skips to the front of the line, there needs to be “a systematic approach to advancing biomass-based functional materials for use in energy applications,” as the research team explains.

If you know your atoms, you know what the team means when they conclude that “electrochemically accessible surface area, rather than the heteroatom composition” is a more effective representative of the material’s performance.

Spoiler alert: surface area is a big deal in energy storage performance.

The U.S. may have fallen behind Asia and Europe in battery manufacturing, but a number of well-funded companies are looking to get the country back in the game with a technology that could supersede today’s lithium-ion chemistries.

Companies including Ionic Materials, QuantumScape, Sila Nanotechnologies, Sion Power and Solid Power are developing all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) that are expected to be safer and more energy-dense than the lithium-ion products used in today’s electric vehicles and battery systems.

“Lithium-ion today, with a metal-oxide cathode and carbon-based anode, is starting to approach its theoretical limits,” said Solid Power CEO Doug Campbell in an interview.

Current lithium-ion technologies might achieve power densities of up to 300 watt-hours per kilogram, Campbell said, but not much more. “Solid-state is a platform that allows things like metallic lithium as an anode,” he said. “That’s perhaps the most direct pathway to significantly increasing the energy.”

ASSBs will not have liquid electrolytes that are susceptible to thermal runaway, so the batteries should be inherently safer. And because today’s lithium-ion products require costly thermal control systems, “a safer battery pack is a lower-cost battery pack,” Campbell said.

That combination of potential upsides is attracting big bucks. Massachusetts-based Ionic Materials has drawn investment from a fund backed by Nissan, Mitsubishi and Renault, in addition to Sun Microsystems co-founder Bill Joy. Daimler has backed Sila Nanotechnologies, based in California’s Bay Area. Samsung and Hyundai have invested in Colorado-based Solid Power.

According to Wood Mackenzie, U.S. investments in ASSB and advanced lithium-ion players amounted to $300 million in 2018, $250 million in 2019 and $200 million so far this year, with the 2020 figure made up by a single cash injection from Volkswagen into QuantumScape.