Harnessing the Potential of Energy Storage

Electric companies are the largest users of energy storage technologies.

E nergy storage offers multiple benefits for the energy grid and for electricity customers. It facilitates the integration of renewable energy resources, such as wind and solar, into the energy grid by

keeping supply and demand balanced at all times. Energy storage also helps to improve electric reliability by providing grid stability services, reducing transmission constraints, and meeting peak demand.

The electric power industry uses nearly all energy storage. While pumped hydropower represents approximately 92 percent of installed storage capacity in the United States, battery storage is a key driver of the energy storage market today. Investment in advanced energy storage is growing rapidly: battery storage capacity quadrupled between 2013 and 2017, growing from 241 megawatts (MW) to 963 MW. In 2017 alone, 280 MW of advanced energy storage devices were installed, a 400-percent increase over 2014.

Federal research and development funding should be increased to develop new cost-effective energy storage technologies and to improve battery performance. Public policies and regulations should be updated to encourage the deployment of energy storage.

February 2019

98%Electric companies

own, procure, or utilize 98 percent of all energy storage today.

~92%Roughly 92 percent

of this is pumped hydropower storage.

The Power of Energy Storage: A Win-Win for Customers and the Energy Grid Electric companies own and operate many different types of energy storage technologies—including pumped hydropower, batteries, thermal, compressed air, and flywheel—and use storage to support both grid operations and behind-the-meter customer solutions. Increasingly, they are using energy storage to support and manage all parts of the energy grid. Energy storage technologies allow grid operators to manage variability in supply and demand better; to increase flexibility, reliability, and resiliency; and to support generation, transmission, distribution, and customers’ energy management.

Energy Storage Improves Reliability and Resiliency for CustomersEnergy storage helps to enable a smarter, stronger, cleaner, and more reliable energy grid for all customers.

A reliable energy grid requires energy supply to meet energy demand at all times. Renewable energy resources, such as wind and solar, are variable. Energy storage enables more of these resources to be integrated into the energy grid while maintaining reliability. This is increasingly important as electric companies add more renewable energy to the energy mix. Electric companies also are considering energy storage options as grid modernization investments, along with traditional generation, transmission, and distribution investments, when planning their energy grids.

Public policies and regulations must be updated to ensure that regulations, standards, and industry practices acknowledge the full value of energy storage and allow storage to participate in all electricity markets and to reach its full potential to benefit customers. In addition, federal funding for energy storage research and development should be increased to improve the duration and efficiency of energy storage technologies.

Edison Electric Institute: Harnessing the Potential of Energy Storage

Our Policy PlatformTo deliver the energy future customers want and expect:

¡ Federal research and development funding should be increased significantly to develop new cost-effective energy storage technologies and to improve battery performance so batteries can store more energy for longer durations.

¡ Electric companies must be allowed to own energy storage assets to enhance the reliability and resiliency of the energy grid. Even though energy storage is a flexible and versatile resource, some state regulatory regimes categorize storage only as a generation asset. This precludes electric companies in some regions of the country from investing in energy storage to support their energy grid operations.

¡ The right policies must be put in place. Although energy storage systems often are able to provide multiple grid services and to support multiple grid operations, existing state and federal regulations frequently do not allow for them to do so. Regulations, standards, and industry practices that acknowledge the full value of storage and allow it to participate in all markets like other resources will help it reach its full potential.

280megawatts

280 megawatts of advanced energy storage devices were

installed in 2017 alone.

400%This is a 400-percent increase over 2014.

Energy storage has immense potential. Today, electric companies are using energy storage to:

¡ Integrate more renewables into the energy grid;

¡ Make the energy grid more reliable and more resilient;

¡ Reduce transmission constraints;

¡ Enhance the operational efficiency of traditional power plants;

¡ Serve as reserve power in case of power disruption or fluctuations;

¡ Achieve peak demand savings;

¡ Help connect the smart grid to the smart home through whole-home optimization;

¡ Defer investment in distribution equipment.

Edison Electric Institute: Harnessing the Potential of Energy Storage

Learn More

Leading the Way: U.S. Electric Company Investment and Innovation in Energy Storage

With more than 60 case studies of electric companies’ energy storage projects, this report highlights the dynamism of EEI member companies in driving the energy storage market throughout the United States. Available at eei.org.

Electric Perspectives

Electric Perspectives, EEI’s flagship publication, provides insights on the transformation underway across the electric power industry. Available in print and accessible online at electricperspectives.com.

Energy Talk

Get the news you need on energy storage, critical policy issues, and electric power industry trends electronically from EEI. Email EnergyTalk@eei.org to subscribe.

~70%In 2017, electric companies represented approximately

70 percent of total investment in battery storage technology.

Battery storageis the main technology

driving the energy storage market today,

and electric companies are the market’s

main drivers.

About EEIThe Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Our members provide electricity for about 220 million Americans, and operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As a whole, the electric power industry supports more than 7 million jobs in communities across the United States. In addition to our U.S. members, EEI has more than 65 international electric companies with operations in more than 90 countries, as International Members, and hundreds of industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate Members.

Organized in 1933, EEI provides public policy leadership, strategic business intelligence, and essential conferences and forums.

For more information, visit our Web site at www.eei.org.

ContactsPatrick ArnessDirector, Government Relations (202) 508-5604 parness@eei.org

Lola InfanteSenior Director, Generation Fuels & Market Analysis(202) 508-5133linfante@eei.org

Olga Chistyakova Manager, Clean Energy(202) 508-5567 ochistyakova@eei.org

Edison Electric Institute701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20004-2696202-508-5000 | www.eei.org

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