Energy storage experts got to ask what their country could do for them Wednesday.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee convened a hearing on “the role of energy storage in the nation’s electricity system,” which gave industry insiders the rare chance to share what they’ve been thinking before a national audience.
The committee members of both parties generally expressed support for energy storage as a nationally valuable asset to allow better control of the supply and demand of electricity, to avoid more expensive traditional grid upgrades and to provide resilience after cataclysmic events.
“Mr. Chairman, energy storage has the potential to fundamentally transform the way we produce and use electricity in a way that benefits the nation as a whole, but we must be willing to make the necessary commitments and the necessary investments in this technology for it to do so,” said Rep. Bobby Rush of Illinois, a Democrat.
For a young industry that typically talks in state-level goals, but is largely focused in only a handful of states, the event marked a maturation in ambition. The goal: to clarify what a federal energy storage policy should look like.
No unified federal storage policy currently exists, although the oft-cited FERC Order 841 is pushing grid operators to systematically value storage’s unique attributes and allow it to compete in wholesale markets.
Potential congressional action will likely be focused elsewhere. Here are the key ideas proposed at the hearing.
Expand federal research and development funding for energy storage technology
Simply earmarking more money for storage research would be the easiest action for Congress to take.
This appears feasible, even in the current political climate. When the Trump White House proposed slashing the budget for the Department of Energy and ARPA-E, the House responded with more funding.
R&D funding could help bring down costs over the next few decades, but it won’t help the practitioners installing batteries today.
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