Three bipartisan energy storage bills were introduced in Congress last week, but none would provide investment tax credits, which industry has sought to increase the competitiveness of the technology.
“I think the question, in our minds, is going to be do these folks see [storage ITC] as something that’s a near term concern or do they see this as something they want to put into a larger, longer conversation,” Jason Burwen, policy vice president at the Energy Storage Association, told Utility Dive.
The three storage bills, which focus on opportunities for loans and research in energy storage, come amid rising interest in the technology, with an increasing number of state targets, a new bipartisan storage caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives and increased funding in the President’s latest budget request.
Meanwhile, industry priorities like the ITC are competing with a host of other energy issues in Congress, including nuclear power, curbing emissions and the Green New Deal.
Hill rehashes support for storage
Last Wednesday, Reps. Mark Takano, D-Calif., and Chris Collins, R-N.Y., announced a new Advanced Energy Storage Caucus along with a package of battery storage bills previously introduced at the end of 2018 in the last Congress. The action is “one more signpost” on the path of continuing bipartisan interest in energy storage, according to Burwen.
Click Here to Read Full Article
Recent Comments