California's assembly bill 2514 and the grid storage revolution
April 12, 2016
California is pioneering a massive integration of energy storage onto the grid, and it could be at the heels of a national revolution. The legislation behind the integration is Assembly Bill 2514, a bill that asked the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to investigate whether the grid should be supplemented with energy storage. AB2514 was first brought about in 2010, and quickly passed.
What is AB 2514?
AB 2514 is, simply put, a call to action. GreenTech Media explains it best - it's not necessarily an order to invest in energy storage, but rather to investigate its benefits and feasibility. The CPUC pounced on the opportunity in late 2013 by creating a program that requires 1.325 gigawatts of energy storage - divvied up between public and investor-owned utilities (POU and IOU) - to be introduced by 2020.
According to the California Energy Commission (CEC), under AB 2514 the governing board of each POU must review its pre-determined energy storage targets every three years. Reports must be sent to the CEC evaluating both the target energy storage procurement, as well as a compliance report detailing how the goal was reached in both 2017 and 2021, according to the CEC.
Researchers at the University of California Berkley School of Law, UC Los Angeles and UC San Diego compiled a 2020 strategic analysis reviewing energy storage methods in compliance with AB 2514 mandates. In it, they list a number of energy storage technologies that could be applied to both public and investor-owned utilities:
- Lead-acid batteries
- Nickel-based
- Lithium ion
- Flow
- Sodium-beta
- Metal air
- Electric double layer capacitors
- Pseudocapacitors
- Hybrid capacitors
- Compressed air energy storage
- Pumped hydro
- Flywheels
- Solar thermal
- Thermal energy storage for Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
Some of these technologies like high-speed flywheel energy storage and flow batteries are still in the research and development phase, according to GreenTech Media. Some of them, though, are completely viable. Pumped hydro storage, battery and thermal energy storage are commercialized forms of energy storage, giving them prime consideration for AB 2514.
The report discussed the limits and benefits of these technologies moving forward. It's certain that representatives of the POUs and IOUs must weigh each option carefully. California has a number of clean energy laws that must be taken into consideration when it comes to procuring energy storage, such as the California Renewable Energy Resources Act.
After AB 2514
By the end of 2016, Southern California Edison (SCE) and Pacific Gas Electric (PGE) must install 120 megawatts (MW) of energy storage technology, while San Diego Gas and Electric (SDGE) needs only 30 MW installed, according to Reed Smith. No more than 50 MW of energy storage can come from pumped hydro, so as to deny it the ability to overpower other technologies from hitting the market at a commercial level.
"IOUs and POUs must have 1,325 megawatts of energy storage capacity installed by 2020."
These energy storage installation targets, while massive, are more than manageable. SCE has purchased 261MW of energy storage resources. This procurement is five times larger than the minimum suggested by CPUC. The energy storage procurement will provide a host of services including ensuring adequate available electrical capacity to meet peak demand and other benefits, such as including investment deferral, capacity, flexibility, ancillary service and energy arbitrage. The larger than minimum purchase also demonstrates to the energy sector that there is a need for energy storage, that solid reliable, affordable energy storage technology exists today and that today's technology is cost effective.
As this massive integration of energy storage proves, a more reliable and sustainable grid system is being conceived in not just the state but in the rest of the country. California is creating a sort of proving ground with AB 2514. The Golden State has been at the forefront of clean energy solutions for a number of years now, so it would come as no surprise that the results of AB 2514 will set off a chain of events across the country in support of more energy storage capacity.
