Energy storage is a vital component in the clean energy revolution, and the Massachusetts House and Senate have shown excellent leadership in advancing policies to deploy energy storage and enhance grid resilience. The Energy Storage Association (ESA) commends them for their efforts to meet the state's clean energy goals.
One such initiative is the recent collaboration between ESA member companies, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and Brenmiller Energy, on a thermal energy storage project at Purchase College, State University of New York (SUNY). This innovative technology demonstrates the potential of energy storage to support the greater use of renewables, unlock new business models and improve energy efficiency.
The ESA is also encouraged by the inclusion of energy storage in legislation passed by the Massachusetts Senate through Senate Bill 2545. If established as a separate energy storage target, as proposed in the bill, Massachusetts would join other states, such as New York, New Jersey, California, and Arizona, and lead the way to realizing the ESA's vision of 35 GW of installed energy storage capacity by 2025.
A crucial aspect of achieving this vision is to implement utility resource planning, which can ensure a level playing field for all technologies, including energy storage. Reforming the way in which resource planning is done allows all technologies to compete fairly, and it recognizes the immense opportunity to provide flexibility and drive ratepayer savings, by deploying energy storage and reducing the need for spare capacity.
In conclusion, energy storage is an essential tool in driving the clean energy revolution, unlocking new business models, and improving energy efficiency. The ESA commends the Massachusetts House and Senate for their leadership in advancing policies to deploy energy storage and enhance grid resilience. The collaboration between NYPA and Brenmiller Energy demonstrates the potential of energy storage, and we encourage other states to follow the example set by Massachusetts and other leading states. Together, we can realize the vision of 35 GW of installed energy storage capacity by 2025 while driving energy efficiency and ratepayer cost savings.