This storage newsletter was originally published on May 11, 2018.

Annual Member Meeting Highlights Excitement Around Storage

On April 30, Michigan EIBC hosted its 6th Annual Member Meeting at the Radisson Hotel in Lansing. The full-day event, attended by over 200 members, industry leaders, and regulators, featured panels on a variety of topics, including storage.

At the event, attendees had the opportunity to share insights into future advanced energy technologies. When asked in a poll what advanced energy technology was most likely to be big in Michigan in 2019, most respondents picked storage. A recent Michigan EIBC member survey similarly revealed that over half of respondents work at least partly in energy storage. That excitement carried over to a panel entitled “The How, When, Where and Why of Commercial and Residential Energy Storage.”

MPSC Commissioner Rachael Eubanks moderated the panel, with Mia Adams of MISO, Ray Hohenstein of Michigan EIBC member company Fluence, and Himanshu Sudan of Michigan EIBC member company eCAMION as speakers. The conversation centered around grid reliability, IRP reform and rates, battery technologies, and electric vehicle batteries.

 

Storage Newsclips

In Michigan

• The St. Clair Inn is seeking a $5.5M loan for energy efficiency updates.
• Some argue that new building-efficiency standards adopted in Michigan last year are leading to higher upfront costs for contractors, though long-term savings are promised. 

From Washington

• New battery tariffs apply to Chinese batteries for power tools, but not EVs.
• New FERC provisions could benefit energy storage providers by allowing them to avoid costly transmission system upgrades.
• The Department of Energy announced $30 million in funding for energy storage systems that can power the grid for at least 10 hours.

Across the Country

• The CEO of Spice Solar describes mistakes from the solar industry that storage companies can learn from. 
• Lockheed Martin says the ‘flow’ battery will boost its use of renewable power.
• The California ISO began an initiative to consider how transmission-connected storage improves efficiency and provides value to the system and ratepayers.
• Metals like lithium and cobalt are crucial for the future of advanced energy, but finding a steady source of the materials may prove difficult.
• A California developer plans an energy storage project that would be triple the size of the world’s current largest battery.
• A BP-backed solar developer says all utility-scale solar bids placed in western states should include storage.
• Abandoned oil wells can provide a significant energy storage resource.
• A new ratemaking law in Hawaii establishes incentives and penalties aimed at improving service and expanding options for home solar and batteries. 
• A new report aims to help green groups promote battery storage technology and includes actions NGOs can take to accelerate the adoption of energy storage technologies.
• Tesla raised the price for its Powerwall energy storage system from $5,500 to $5,900.
• Energy storage could help prevent the “duck curve” in Massachusetts.
• Experts at a conference predict significant growth in the energy storage market in coming years.
• Hawaii’s Kauai Island Utility Cooperative was the top utility in the United States for energy storage last year, adding over 415 watts of storage per customer. 
• A municipal utility in Springfield, Missouri, will integrate battery storage at a substation to extend the life of the facility.
• San Francisco and City University of New York are working on best practices for using solar-plus-storage to boost resiliency.
• Michigan EIBC member company NextEra Energy plans more solar and solar-plus-storage projects with Florida Power & Light. 
• Mercedes-Benz will stop manufacturing batteries for residential energy storage, saying its product was “overdesigned” and too expensive for stationary use.
• A new ratemaking law in Hawaii establishes incentives and penalties aimed at improving service and expanding options for home solar and batteries. 

 

Events to Watch:

You’re invited to the U.P. Energy Summit on May 23 at Northern Michigan University. Register here.

Michigan EIBC will host a Michigan Energy Forum on energy efficiency and lighting on June 11 at member company CLEAResult’s office in Detroit. Stay tuned for details!

On July 17-19, PlugVolt will be hosting its next Battery Seminar in Plymouth, Michigan (USA), featuring an entire day of in-depth training by EnerDelon Lithium Ion technology, alongside complementary industry updates by automotive and grid storage OEMs, global battery manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers. Attendees also get a tour of Intertek’s Battery Testing Center. Register here.