Home » baseload power

Energy Storage On Pace To Double Its Installed Capacity By The End Of The Year, CEO Says

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

As you might imagine, the word on everyone’s lips at Intersolar North America – in addition to solar – is storage. Specifically, the question is how much storage can the United States expect to have installed and how quickly it can come. Fortunately, Kelly Speakes-Backman, CEO of the Energy Storage Association, was attending the show to answer exactly those kinds of questions.

Speakes-Backman informed the audience at the insanely broadly titled “The Future of PV” session that the United States installed 1 GW of storage last year and is on pace to double that this year to 2 GW, though she was quick to emphasize time and again that she is not just talking batteries – the storage method on which most people in the room and in the general solar industry are focused.

[wds id=”3″]

“Battery storage is growing exponentially,” Speakes-Backman told the crowd. “But that is not the only technology out there. We represent everything from pumped storage to flywheel to lithium-ion batteries, so it’s important to note that because everyone assumes you’re only talking batteries when you start talking storage in this kind of setting.”

She noted she has been talking to Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, frequently about what binds the two industries together and what policy initiatives on which the two associations can collaborate. The two have decided they can collaborate on tax treatment and permitting, streamlining both tax credit eligibility and cutting back on the regulatory headaches associated with the latter.

“It’s great that people can get the investment tax credit if they pair solar + storage, but we believe that storage should be able to get the tax credit by itself,” Speakes-Backman said. “That’s important, and that’s something on which we’re working.”

By 2023, Speakes-Backman said the majority of new energy storage installs will be behind the meter, and by 2025 that number will blossom to 50%.

But storage has so much more to offer than than the spread of renewable energy. She said the energy storage industry could create more than 167,000 new jobs if the regulatory structures are put in place to make it happen. The goal, she says, is 35 GW of energy storage capacity by 2025 – and she believes that goal is eminently reachable. You can see how she proposes to do that below.

This is a great roadmap on how to get the 35 GW of storage by 2025, courtesy of Kelly Speakes-Backman, the CEO of the Energy Storage Association.

Beyond Baseload: California Solar Advocate Says Grid Needs Flexibility Instead Of Baseload Power

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

One of the many things I learned from a former colleague of mine (he knows who he is) is the importance of baseload power. Or, as he would say, the absolute non-importance of baseload power.

Basically, distributed resources like solar and wind make traditional electricity producers crazy. So crazy, in fact, that they say things like, “What happens if the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing? We need baseload power supplies so we can keep the lights on 24/7.”

To which Angelina M. Galiteva, founder and board chair of Renewables 100 Policy Institute, an organization dedicated to accelerating the global transition to 100% renewable energy, says, “Baloney.” (A sentiment with which my former colleague and I agree.)

[wds id=”3″]

Galiteva was one of the featured speakers in a broadly titled session called “The Future of PV,” and her presentation centered on what California has done and is doing to integrate solar into the grid. And generally speaking, she said, the state has done a great job – so great, in fat, that baseload power has become a myth.

“Solar and wind aren’t a niche play anymore,” Galiteva told the audience. “Wind and solar are the norm. And as prices for storage continue to go down, integrating those resources on the grid are going to become ever easier.

“We don’t need baseload power anymore,” she continued. “What we need is flexibility. Batteries and other storage mechanisms will help us do that.”

It’s not as if Galiveta is unaware that challenges to 100% renewables exist. The “Duck Curve” is, for better and worse, real, and it’s not something that can be ignored.

“We need to figure out how to smooth the Duck Curve,” Galiteva said. “We have the resources to do 100% renewable grid – not just in California but in the entire United States. But there are ramping issues we have to deal with before that can happen. I’m confident we can get there, and I believe that time is coming soon.”

She also said the Western states need to integrate their grids entirely to help reduce the amount of curtailment. Currently, California is curtailing approximately 3% of its renewable resources. An integrated grid would provide a market for the excess power without curtailment, which would help stabilize the grid and make it more reliable for everyone.

Iron Mountain Joins RE100 and Commits to Setting Science Based Targets for Carbon Reductions

Iron Mountain® Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), the global leader in storage and information management services, today announced two important environmental commitments that significantly advance the company’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and increase its usage of renewable energy around the world.

Firstly, Iron Mountain is joining the RE100 initiative, a collaborative, global platform developed by The Climate Group, an independent, not-for-profit organization working internationally with government and business leaders to advance smart policies and technologies to cut global emissions and accelerate a low carbon economy. Iron Mountain joins more than 130 multinational corporations in committing to a shift to using renewable energy sources for 100 percent of its worldwide electricity. In doing so, Iron Mountain pledges to follow a rigorous standard for green power purchasing and achieving aggressive interim milestones on the way to a complete conversion by 2050.

Secondly, Iron Mountain announced its commitment to set an aggressive science-based target for carbon reduction by the end of 2019. In doing so, the company will work with the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), which helps companies determine how much they must cut emissions to do their part to address climate change, to calculate and approve a reduction in carbon from current levels. This promise puts the company on a trajectory for decarbonizing its operations in line with the global goals of the Paris Climate Accord.

“We applaud Iron Mountain for taking these important steps to address climate change,” said Mindy Lubber, CEO and president of Ceres, a sustainability nonprofit organization working with the most influential investors and companies to build leadership and drive solutions throughout the economy. “By committing to 100 percent renewable electricity and setting an ambitious science-based carbon-reduction target, Iron Mountain is joining a growing number of major companies that understand the huge economic benefits and clear competitive advantage of climate action.”

In Iron Mountain’s recently released 2017 Corporate Responsibility Report, the company reports achieving an absolute reduction of 6.6 percent in year-over-year carbon emissions – even during a period of continued business growth and service expansion. Iron Mountain is also a member of several collaborative efforts to advance the use of renewable energy including the renewable energy buyer’s alliance (REBA) a collaboration of World Wildlife Fund, World Resource Initiative, Rocky Mountain Institute and Business for Social Responsibility. The company is a signatory to the Renewable Energy Buyers Principals, a member of the EPA Green Power Partnership and recipient of the 2017 Green Power Leadership Award.

“We’re proud to be among the earliest adopters of renewable energy,” said William Meaney, president and chief executive officer of Iron Mountain. “Understanding the impact of our energy usage has led to the adoption of energy and greenhouse gas reduction strategies that are helping the company save money, reduce environmental impacts and better serve our customers. In making these commitments today, we are setting aggressive public goals with the endorsement of well-respected non-profit organizations, accelerating our efforts to foster strong economic growth while operating as a responsible, ethical and sustainable company.”

UPDATE: Trump Throws Free Market Principles Out Window On Behalf Of Coal, Nuke Plants

This article has been updated to reflect that President Trump has in fact given the order rather than just considering it.

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Well, that’s not very free market of him.

In a move that made George Gilder do a spit take, President Donald J. Trump has ordered the Energy Department to instruct grid operators to purchase electricity from failing coal and nuclear plants in an effort to keep such faltering plants alive and well, according to the Associated Press.

[wds id=”3″]

Earlier today, Bloomberg indicated such a move might be imminent, citing a memo it reviewed that previewed the action the Energy Department has now been ordered to take, using its power under the Federal Power Act – Section 202 powers, to be exact.

At the time, Bloomberg called the move “an unprecedented intervention into U.S. Energy markets,” in the master-of-understatement style for which they are known. The news organization quoted from the memo that argues:

“Federal action is necessary to stop the further premature retirements of fuel-secure generation capacity.”

The phrases “premature retirements” is the key one in the memo, as it has long been policy of this president to try to prop up failing nuclear and coal plants by any means necessary. It was what was behind the study Secretary of Energy Rick Perry ordered shortly after his appointment into the importance of “baseload power” and the completely arbitrary idea that electrical generation facilities must have 90 days of reserve power on site.

The study was expected to find that an increase in coal and nuclear plants were necessary. When it didn’t, Perry ordered the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue a rule that would have provided for bailouts of failing nuclear and coal plants. FERC respectfully declined.

Which is why the ball has landed back in the Department of Energy’s court, and they appear to be on the verge of simply ordering grid operators to buy power from these plants to provide the plant operators with a financial bailout orchestrated by the federal government.

It’s no shock that this action could be coming. After all, it was President Trump who stood in front of West Virginia coal miners and offered them the impossible dream of bringing coal jobs back to the United States, despite the electricity market – including a majority of utilities – voting against such a move with their market-based plans to close the plants instead. To fulfill his campaign promise, the only way to save those jobs is to rig the system in favor of coal plants.

Bloomberg notes the order is only a draft and has not been finally decided yet, but it’s hard to imagine a circumstance under which the president wouldn’t manipulate the market this way to allow him to claim victory in the mythical “war on coal.”

More:

Trump orders ‘immediate steps’ to boost coal, nuclear plants (Associated Press)

Trump Prepares Lifeline for Money-Losing Coal Power Plants (Bloomberg)