In the world of electricity, few topics are generating more headlines this year than energy storage. Market watcher Navigant Research figures more than 1,420 projects are under way across the power grid, with a new installation trumpeted almost every week.
“Overall, the global energy storage industry is poised to continue to grow quickly over the next several years,” Navigant analyst Ian McClenny noted in a recent update about the market. “With emerging infrastructure becoming increasingly integrated, dynamic and complex, flexible resources like storage will provide added value to existing and new power-generating assets.”
Although energy storage long has been a technology on the brink — drawing R&D dollars from the likes of Tesla founder Elon Musk, the U.S. military and a growing number of utility pilot projects — there is reason to believe that storage tech has entered a new phase in its evolution.
One statistic that should get you thinking: data from research firm Mercom Capital Group estimates that about $820 million was dedicated to energy storage project financing during 2016. That compares with just $30 million tracked by the company in 2015.
Several initiatives have captured the attention of mainstream media, rather than just the trade press: “A Big Test for Big Batteries,” proclaimed The New York Times in a January article about three huge grid-scale projects in Southern California. The installations are part of broader investments by San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison meant to improve the stability of the local grid and make it easier to integrate renewable energy generating resources, including solar photovoltaic farms. One storage farm can offer up to 30 megawatts of capacity for up to four-hour stretches. Utilities in other regions are dabbling.
“It’s fair to say we don’t have long-range experience with this technology to say that it is perfect or a nirvana,” Alice Jackson, vice president for Midwest utility Xcel, told The Times. “It’s something we’ll observe as California goes through its experience.”
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