New requirements by the California Public Utilities Commission ("CPUC") and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission enhance opportunities for energy storage technologies to play a larger role with California’s, and the nation’s, electrical grid.
Energy storage offers numerous potential benefits, including facilitating the integration of intermittent renewable resources such as wind and solar power, performing a variety of ancillary services critical to grid reliability and stability, and allowing energy to be accumulated when demand is low for use during peak periods or emergencies. Nonetheless, many advanced energy storage technologies remain in the nascent stage, leaving questions about their cost-effectiveness and financeability.