Does state energy storage policy matter?

While decisions carried out by federal regulators and regional market operators have an impact on state energy storage policy, state policymakers—and state legislators in particular—are instrumental in enacting policies that remove barriers to adoption and encourage investment in storage technologies.

What are the different types of energy storage policies?

Approximately 17 states have adopted some form of energy storage policies, which broadly fall into the following categories: procurement targets, regulatory adaption, demonstration programs, financial incentives, and consumer protections. Below we give an overview of each of these energy storage policy categories.

How can States reduce regulatory barriers to energy storage?

States have also focused on removing regulatory barriers to adopting energy storage by requiring or authorizing utilities to consider energy storage in resource planning and by creating standards for connecting storage resources to the grid.

How can States accelerate energy storage adoption?

Legislatures have taken varied approaches to accelerate adoption of energy storage, with some states enacting energy storage procurement targets and others focusing on creating programs that promote and fund developing technology.

What are States doing about energy storage?

States are also developing expert task forces and committees to evaluate storage technologies and opportunities for growth. Maine, for example, enacted HB 1166 (2019) creating a commission to study the benefits of energy storage in the state’s electric industry.

How can a state increase energy storage deployment?

One major tool for increasing the deployment of energy storage technologies is setting a storage target that requires the state to procure a certain amount of energy storage, measured in megawatts (MW) or megawatt-hours (MWh), by a specific date.