At least 31 states took actions related to energy storage during 2017, a new report on grid modernization activities issued by the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center said.
“A wide variety of actions were taken, including conducting studies, amending resource planning and interconnection rules, considering incentives for storage systems, adopting procurement targets, and deploying storage facilities,” the center said in its latest “50 States of Grid Modernization” report, which covers the fourth quarter and all of 2017.
The report, which includes a section on top grid modernization trends in 2017, also said that a growing trend among states is consideration of the way in which energy storage is evaluated within the integrated resource planning process.
Regulators in New Mexico and Washington amended statewide integrated resource planning rules to require the evaluation of storage alternatives, while regulators adopted similar rules for individual utilities in Arizona and Louisiana, the center said.
(Learn more about the latest trends and technology in energy storage in a new report from the American Public Power Association, “Understanding Energy Storage: Technology, Costs, and Potential Value.”).
The report lists several other trends seen in 2017 including states taking comprehensive and coordinated approaches to grid modernization. “Several states – including Illinois, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont –initiated broad proceedings in 2017, addressing many different elements of grid modernization in a coordinated fashion,” the report noted.
Q4, 2017 data on policy and deployment actions
The center said that in 2017, 39 states plus the District of Columbia took a total of 288 policy and deployment actions related to grid modernization, utility business model and rate reform, energy storage, microgrids, and demand response.
Of the 288 actions catalogued, the most common were related to deployment (63), followed by policies (61), and planning and market access (45).
In the fourth quarter of 2017, 35 states plus DC took a total of 196 policy and deployment actions related to grid modernization, utility business model and rate reform, energy storage, microgrids, and demand response.
Of the 196 actions catalogued, the most common were related to deployment (41) and policies (41), followed by studies and investigations (39).
The report’s executive summary is available here.
The center recently issued a report that examined state-level solar policy actions in the fourth quarter and all of 2017.
