The economic viability of commercial and industrial energy storage will grow rapidly in the United States over the next five years as storage costs continue to fall, according to a new report from GTM Research.

The report estimates that the economics for commercial energy storage could be attractive in as many as 19 states by 2021, up dramatically from the handful of states where commercial storage is economically attractive today.

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The energy storage market is one of the most exciting and fastest growing new industries in the utility space right now. The market grew by several hundred percent last year, and it looks likely that it will grow by a similar amount again this year.

Still, this is a market in its infancy and many market participants are still figuring out the economics. Those economics are set to get a boost thanks to an energy storage tax bill that is making its way through the U.S. Congress right now.

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Ten years ago, Elon Musk outlined Tesla’s “secret” master plan to scale up its automotive business by building progressively cheaper vehicles, while also calling Tesla a “side project” to Musk’s space exploration company SpaceX. Much has changed since then, and in hindsight it’s difficult to argue that Tesla failed at this mission: The Model S beat its competition in the high-end luxury segment, and the premium mass-market Model 3 is set to debut at a base price of US$35,000. Following the company’s success thus far on implementing its first master plan, it’s no surprise that Elon Musk’s announcement that he was working on a second plan was met with great anticipation. Well last week he did release that plan, and it included autonomy, solar power, some vehicles we expected, and some vehicles we didn’t.  

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In its latest report, The Economics of Commercial Energy Storage in the U.S., GTM Research analyzed rate structures across 51 utilities to determine the opportunity for demand charge management for commercial energy storage customers. According to the report, commercial energy storage economics are attractive today in seven U.S. states. And that number is expected to grow to 19 states by 2021.

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Shortly after announcing a new residential energy storage product, Sonnen did it again with a commercial one — the sonnenBatterie pro. The system ranges from 18 kW / 24 kWh up to 90 kW / 240 kWh. It employs Ideal Power’s 30 kW Power Conversion System. An Ideal Power inverter is included, as is energy management. Hotels, restaurants, and office buildings are referenced on the Sonnen site as suitable places where the system would be effective. Peak shaving and integration with solar power are two of the main benefits.

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It’s a busy time for corporate deals in the energy sector. Multibillion-dollar mergers are happening across the U.S. utility sector. PV monitoring companies are trading hands at a brisk pace. But what of energy storage?

The stakes are rising in the nascent storage market as technologies approach commercialization and business models get more sophisticated.

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We’ve heard about the value of energy storage for integrating renewables, shaving peak demand and regulating frequency, but there’s another service it can provide: combating air pollution.

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The sun doesn’t always shine, the wind doesn’t always blow and the water doesn’t always flow when people want it to. Thus, the problem for renewable energy — if the sun, wind and water become America’s main sources of power, how will the grid function when those sources aren’t generating?

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Investment in grid-level energy storage is expected to triple over the next five years, with a multitude of players delivering a wide variety of technologies, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. Duke Energy recently installed a hybrid energy storage system (HESS) that combines high-capacity batteries with fast-responding ultracapacitors. The pilot project will provide peak demand response, load shifting, and support for a utility-owned 1.2 MW photovoltaic array.

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Forget about Tesla Motors Inc.’s batteries: The hottest way to store energy in the electricity business today is a century-old technology that involves moving water to stash power.

Known as pumped storage, the giant facilities push large volumes of water uphill when there is surplus electricity, and then let gravity move it back down through turbines to generate hydroelectric power when extra kilowatts are needed.

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