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From Ucilla Wang writing at Forbes:
Energy Storage: California's New Green Tech Battleground
California’s goal to increase the use of energy storage to complement solar energy generation will open up a new battleground between utilities and renewable energy proponents.
That tension is already present even though the state is just gearing up to be what its policy makers hope will be a testing ground and booming market for innovative storage technologies.
At a panel discussion hosted by the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday, Lyndon Rive, CEO of SolarCity, talked about how long it took a local utility to approve the grid connection of battery systems his company had installed.“It takes about eight months to connect. There is no reason for it,” Rive said. “You can’t help but think that it’s slow because there is incentive to keep the game from changing.”
“The average wait is eight months? That’s crazy,” said Elon Musk, chairman of SolarCity and CEO of Tesla Motors, which is selling lithium-ion battery packs to SolarCity.
The commission invited the two men, who are cousins, to talk about how regulations can help or hamper innovation. California has long embraced policies that aim to nudge people to conserve energy and minimize the impact of climate change.
While that progressive politics should help California reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, the policies have taken time and pains to evolve. Some of their long-term implications, good or bad, aren’t all that clear.
The latest example comes from the emerging energy storage market. The state is just starting to carry out a program that requires utilities to use energy storage to help them manage the increasing amount of solar and wind energy flowing into the grid. The three big investor-owned utilities are to collectively buy or own 1,325 megawatts of storage by 2020. Utilities could buy services from owners of the storage equipment installed at homes and businesses. They also could choose from a variety of energy storage technologies, not just batteries.
The grid runs smoothly when it maintains a balance of supply and demand. Utilities will use the batteries to inject power into the grid to help keep that balance in place when there is an intermittent flow of solar and wind electricity. They could accomplish this task by cranking up natural gas power plants, too, but policy makers want to gradually move California away from relying on fossil fuels.
California utilities have to get 33% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. As a result, gigawatts of solar power plants have been completed or are under construction or development.On top of that, the state’s incentive program to encourage rooftop solar for homes and businesses has led to nearly 2 gigawatts of installations. These installations don’t count toward that 33% mandate.
The growth of the rooftop solar market is attracting more companies that want to sell or lease batteries. They are targeting customers who want to bottle solar electricity for use when they are home at night, or to use it as a backup power during a blackout. They also are pitching to businesses the idea of using batteries to reduce an expensive charge that businesses pay to utilities.
Utilities have resisted regulations for promoting rooftop solar generation, which not only reduces their revenues but also forces them to figure out new ways to make money.Without energy storage, people depend on their utilities for electricity when the solar panels aren’t producing power. With it, much of that reliance could very well disappear, though whether each home and business will completely cut its ties with the grid is unclear.
Mindful of the conflicts ahead between companies like SolarCity and utilities, the commission’s president, Michael Peevey, advised Rive and Musk to use “a little foreplay” to romance their rivals and get what they want, a comment that drew big laughs from the audience....MORE
