Energy Storage – Page 6 – Global Power Law & Policy

Oregon Moves Ahead on Energy Storage

May 26 2015

The Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) recently announced that in June 2015 it will issue a request for proposals (RFP) for an electrical energy storage demonstration project. The U.S. Department of Energy will make $250,000 in federal funding available for the selected project, and ODOE and Oregon BEST will supply an additional $45,000. The RFP is intended to incent 500 kW or larger storage projects that “improve electric transmission and/or distribution system operations, service quality, and reliability.” The RFP will be technology neutral, and ODOE hopes to receive bids from “utilities, energy storage technology vendors, energy service suppliers and electric utility customers.” Applicants will need to have either a “committed utility partner” or a letter of support from the utility with which the project will interconnect—potential bidders may want to begin laying the groundwork for those arrangements pending the RFP’s issuance. The recipient of the award will be expected to provide a minimum 50% cost share and will need to “start” the project in 2015. (ODOE’s press release does not explain what will be required to “start,” and presumably the RFP will address that question.)

ODOE’s press release can be found here. The RFP announcement will appear on ODOE’s energy storage web site in June.

This announcement comes hard on the heels of news that the Oregon Senate Business and Transportation Committee passed H.B. 2193 out to the full Senate following a hearing on May 20. The proposed legislation would direct electric companies, if authorized by Oregon’s Public Utility Commission, to procure certain energy storage systems. The bill passed the Oregon House by a vote of 58-2. We’ll report on the final version of the bill if it is enacted, which seems likely—in the meantime, a summary of an earlier version of the legislation can be found here.

Funding for Washington’s Clean Energy Fund II Hangs in the Balance

May 14 2015

Funding for Washington’s Clean Energy Fund (“CEF”) II hangs in the balance as the Washington State Legislature entered the 15th day of its first special session following the close of the 2015 regular session. A special session was necessary because neither a general fund budget nor a capital budget has been passed.

The CEF, which was established for the first time in the 2013 capital budget, is managed by the state Department of Commerce and supports clean energy projects and technologies statewide. Governor Inslee proposed $60 million for CEF II in his 2015 capital budget. The House has $40 million for CEF in the House’s 2015 proposed capital budget, and the Senate has $0.

Budget leaders in Olympia are meeting to develop compromise general fund and capital budgets, and the future of CEF II must be resolved in those negotiations.

The 2013 CEF was used to fund energy storage demonstration projects proposed by Avista Utilities, Puget Sound Energy, and Public Utility District No. 1 of Snohomish County, Washington ($15 million). The 2013 CEF funds also were used for revolving loan fund grants to support residential and commercial energy efficiency projects ($15 million). The remainder of the 2013 CEF ($6 million) will be used by Washington research institutions as matching funds for federal grants.

For more information, click here visit the CleanTech Alliance website.

Oregon Considers Energy Storage Legislation

Mar 13 2015

The Oregon legislature is considering a bill that would require the state’s large electric utilities to procure one or more “qualifying energy storage systems” by January 1, 2020. H.B. 2193 would apply to any entity that is engaged in the business of distributing electricity to retail electricity consumers in Oregon (not including a consumer-owned utility) if the entity makes sales of electricity to retail customers in an amount that equals 3 percent or more of all electricity sold to retail electricity customers in Oregon. An energy storage system is deemed to be “qualifying” if it is “cost-effective,” and the legislation contemplates that each electric company would procure one or more such systems having the capacity to store not less than 5 megawatts of electricity but not more than an amount of electricity that is equal to one percent of the company’s peak load for 2014. H.B. 2193 would allow an electric company to recover in its rates all costs prudently incurred in procuring one or more cost-effective energy storage systems, “including any above-market costs associated with procurement.”

Energy Storage Council Conference

Mar 13 2015

K&L Gates is pleased to announce that partner Jenny Mee will be a presenter at the inaugural Energy Storage Council Conference, on May 13-14, in Melbourne, Australia. This informative and comprehensive two day conference will explore important issues relating to the advancement of energy storage solutions in Australia and globally, including market developments and trends, technology integration, policy and industry case studies.

Click here for full event details.

Regulatory implications of new products and services in the Australian electricity market

Mar 03 2015

The Energy Market Reform Working Group in Australia released a consultation paper at the end of 2014 regarding the regulatory implications of new products and services in the national electricity market.

New products and services include energy supply from generation facilities installed at the customer’s premises (which may be combined with energy storage), products and services relating to demand management and energy information and advice.

The paper outlines some of the potential regulatory implications of these new products and services. It seeks feedback from stakeholders as to the types of new products and services which may be offered to small customers and whether regulatory reforms may be necessary – from either a consumer protection or a power system operations perspective.

Stakeholders are invited to make submissions on the issues raised by the consultation paper by close of business on 20 March 2015. Written submissions can be sent by email to energycouncil@industry.gov.au. Alternatively, please contact us and we would be happy to assist you in preparing a submission.

To read more about this consultation paper and the key findings and issues identified, please click here.

Infocast’s Corporate Energy Sourcing Summit 2015

Dec 10 2014

12-14 January 2015
The Westgate Hotel
San Diego, CA

Presenters: William H. Holmes, Paul C. Lacourciere

K&L Gates is a Platinum Sponsor at Infocast’s Corporate Energy Sourcing Summit 2015, with partner Bill Holmes leading the Summit as Chair. This event focuses on the latest intelligence on financing, business cases, risk, sourcing & sustainability from the leading market players, while evaluating business cases for new strategies and solutions including on & off-site renewables, demand response, efficiency, fuel cells and energy storage. The Summit will be a source of actionable strategies and insights from peers in other sectors including bigbox/retail, manufacturing, data centers, real estate, airports, and universities. The Summit will offer up numerous opportunities to meet key dealmakers, learn about their plans for the upcoming year, and capitalize on new prospects that will lead to successful deals.

K&L Gates to Host Deal Room at Energy Storage North America Conference

Sep 25 2014

K&L Gates will once again be the Exclusive Deal Room and Gold Sponsor of the Energy Storage North America conference, September 30 – October 2 in San Jose, CA. K&L Gates partners Bill Holmes and Charlie Schwenck will be moderating panels at ESNA.

The K&L Gates Deal Room is an ideal place to hold your energy storage business meetings in a convenient and private atmosphere during the conference. Reservations are required — to make yours, click here. In addition, discounts for the conference are available. Please contact Bill Holmes for more information.

Phase I of CA 2030 Low Carbon Grid Study Completed: 50% GHG Reduction Feasible; Energy Storage to Play a Key Role

Sep 04 2014

Last week, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) began releasing the results of Phase I of the California 2030 Low-Carbon Grid Study, which is designed to show how the electric sector can most cost-effectively support California’s ambitious GHG emissions goals. The study is generally referred to as the “Low Carbon Grid Study” or “LCGS” by NREL and the approximately 30 companies, foundations and trade associations that participated in the study. Read More

Energy Storage RFPs May Spread to Oregon

Aug 25 2014

The Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) recently announced that it is considering issuing a solicitation for demonstration electrical energy storage projects in late 2014. To prepare for possible funding opportunities, ODOE seeks public comments about the “scope, number and priority” of proposals that use “electrical storage technology, specifically batteries” to provide resiliency and regulation. ODOE noted that potential proposals may include, among others, projects that support transmission system devices such as static var compensators, projects that would be co-located with renewable energy generation where there are transmission constraints, projects that would provide stabilization to industrial facilities during outages, and projects that would co-locate renewable energy generation with distributed energy storage.

ODOE also seeks comment on the selection criteria that it has preliminarily identified, which include the sponsor’s ability to secure adequate funding for project implementation, the project’s commercial viability, the sponsor’s willingness to allow multiple public entities to collect data from the project for a year after commissioning, “integrity benefits” to the distribution or transmission system, and “resiliency benefits” to emergency service providers or critical services.

ODOE also seeks comments on whether it should prioritize geographic areas in Oregon that would benefit from grid improvements, whether it should prefer certain parties (such as small utilities) as grant recipients, whether it should give preference to certain technologies, what kind of transparency and data requirements should be used, and how a pilot energy storage project could be used to support standards development.

ODOE’s “Comment Opportunity” can be found here. Comments are due on August 29.

The agency’s request for comments is an outgrowth of an energy storage workshop co-hosted by ODOE and the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) in Portland in March 2014. I attended the workshop, and found it very informative. The morning session of the workshop featured panels that discussed a range of energy storage technologies and their potential applications. During the afternoon session, participants broke into groups for roundtable discussions on various topics. ODOE and OPUC did a good job of reducing the proceedings to writing—you can find summaries of the Roundtable sessions and the presentations here. These materials provide useful background on how ODOE and OPUC are thinking about the development of energy storage in Oregon.

ODOE’s ability to proceed with the solicitation appears to be conditioned on what the agency describes as a “potential partnership” with U.S. Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratories and the Clean Energy States Alliance. Whether this particular solicitation materializes or not, Oregon is now among a number of states such as California, Hawaii and New York that are recognizing the important role that energy storage will play in electric power supply, delivery, and security in the years ahead.

DOE Announces Loan Guarantee Solicitation

Jul 08 2014

Last Thursday, July 3^rd, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued its finalized loan guarantee solicitation for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. DOE made $2.5 billion in loan guarantee authority directly available through the solicitation, but indicated that an expansion of this financing up to $4 billion is possible depending on how much it can stretch an appropriated credit subsidy on applications. This suite of loan guarantees has been a highly sought after item as Secretary Ernest Moniz and other DOE officials have repeatedly stressed the Department’s focus on renewable and energy efficiency research and financing. DOE support for research and investment in these areas can be seen as an extension of the President’s Climate Action Plan, as the Administration strives to cut carbon emissions. Read More

Catagory:Energy Storage