Applications: Stationary Energy Storage

Differing Permitting Processes for Renewable and BESS Integration Complicates Adoption State law determines whether electricity markets are regulated or deregulated and public utility commissions (PUCs) or independent system operators (ISOs) implement mandates impacting how energy assets are managed, expanded or replaced:

Regulated: Companies need to go their respective state legislatures to get approval for price increases (rate cases) to invest in improvements who test whether costs are prudent and reasonable ⟶ Difficult to modernize or add new power generation methods in states that mandate low prices as there is a higher burden of economic proof required unless there are renewable mandates

Deregulated: By contrast, electricity markets in deregulated markets managed by independent system operators (ISOs) separate the generation, transmission, and distribution to increase competition and any modernization or renewable integration including BESS is tied to investment returns ⟶ As costs come down, adoption has increased more than in regulated markets as independent power producers (IPPs) can build without utility ownership

Exceptions: The Texas ERCOT is independent (not subject to FERC) with clear guidelines with installation taking 18 to 30 months while California, with a strong statewide green energy mandate takes 4+ years due to complex permitting and interconnections ⟶ Texas and California represent around 50% of BESS installations in the country with 19 GWh and 59 GWh respectively

Source: ISO/RTO Council (map), Pivot Research, FERC, ERCOT, DOE

Notes: Tan states/provinces in this map are regulated electricity markets; ISOs/RTOs shown in colour, with ERCOT being entirely within the state of Texas.

Extracted from the PDF; charts and images may read imperfectly.