Commission recommends energy storage steps Maine 'must take'
Courtesy / Office of Governor
Gov. Janet Mills in June speaks at a signing ceremony for new laws to address climate change, including those favorable to solar energy. The announcement was made at Cianbro's 10-megawatt array in Pittsfield. A legislative commission has determined that the state must up its energy storage capacity as one way to reach Mills' goals.
"Small steps" to promote and improve the state's energy storage should be undertaken — or ratepayers will pay the price, a state Legislature commission says.
The 14-member study group, made up of legislators and energy industry representatives, recommended the state establish a goal of reaching 100 megawatts of energy storage capacity in Maine by the end of 2025, and made seven recommendations to get there.
The commission said that the state lags behind the rest of New England in expanding energy storage, which helps reduce rates and makes for a greener, more efficient grid. Recommendations by the committee will be considered by the Legislature.
The Commission to Study the Economic, Environmental and Energy Benefits of Energy Storage to the Maine Electricity Industry, chaired by state Sen. Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsic, was established by the Legislature last year. The group was charged with exploring whether certain energy storage projects would contribute to Maine’s energy sustainability goals and economy, including potential benefits for ratepayers. The report was released Monday.
It concludes: “If the state fails to move forward with the small steps suggested in this report to promote energy storage development in Maine, ratepayers will pay the price of this inaction. As the other states in New England increasingly invest in energy storage and reduce peak demand, Maine will be left carrying more peak load resulting in more costs shifted to Maine ratepayers.”
"By implementing energy storage projects in a strategic way, we can both save Mainers money and take steps to fight climate change," Vitelli said.
Recommendations, challenges
The commission’s recommendations include:
- Establish state targets for energy storage development;
- Encourage energy storage paired with renewable generation resources;
- Advance energy storage as an energy efficiency resource;
- Address electricity rate design issues relating to time variation in costs;
- Advocate for energy storage consideration in regional wholesale markets.
- Clarify utility ownership of energy storage; and
- Conduct an in-depth Maine-specific analysis of energy storage costs, benefits and opportunities.
Some of the many challenges the report found are that upfront cost is a key barrier to deploying more energy storage, and that the rate structure and deregulated nature of electricity industry provide a disincentive for utilities to support distributed energy resources and energy storage on a large scale.
Because utilities earn revenue when they build out transmission and distribution capacity and when customers buy more electricity, there are no incentives to defer transmission and distribution, encourage customers to reduce consumption, switch to renewable generation or add storage.
In general, the committee concluded that energy storage has the potential to reduce costs and improve reliability; complements renewable energy; presents cost-effective options; and may be inhibited by market barriers or a lack of clear regulatory signals.
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