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NAATBatt Coalition recommends deployment of up to 300 GWh of distributed energy storage systems by 2022

A coalition of 13 leading industrial companies and electric utilities, including General Motors Company, The Dow Chemical Company and Duke Energy, issued a white paper recommending the installation of up to 300 GWh of distributed energy storage (DES) systems around the country by 2022.

DES systems consist of small, stationary batteries installed in neighborhoods, buildings, homes and electricity substations, which can be networked together using smart grid communications technology. DES systems reduce blackouts and brownouts, permit greater use of variable, renewable energy resources such as wind and solar, and help reduce dependence upon imported petroleum. The coalition was assembled by the National Alliance for Advanced Technology Batteries (NAATBatt).

Although DES technology exists today, few such systems have been deployed and electric utilities have little experience dealing with complex DES systems on the grid. The white paper points out that the way that DES systems are paid for discourages their deployment.

Because DES systems are installed on the distribution portion of the electricity grid—in homes, communities and buildings—local utility ratepayers must pay for all of the costs of DES deployment. But those same ratepayers receive only a portion of the benefits of local DES systems, since many of the benefits accrue to persons outside the local service territory.

The white paper identifies three national, non-local benefits of DES systems:

  • greater security of the national power grid;
  • helping states achieve their renewable energy mandates; and
  • reducing dependence on imported petroleum by making electric vehicles more affordable to consumers.

The white paper makes six recommendations for speeding deployment of DES systems:

  1. Establish a coordinated program of geographically diverse, small, and fast-to-implement demonstration projects that will help electric utilities to gain experience with DES systems, standardize their design and applications, and demonstrate their value proposition.

  2. Create a policy mechanism that will enable local electricity ratepayers to recover the “national interest value” of DES systems in which local ratepayers invest.

  3. Establish a coordinated nationwide approach to DES regulatory treatment that will permit DES system operators to be compensated for the full range of grid benefits they provide and include standardized interconnection.

  4. Continue to coordinate with existing energy storage standards development process and help inform standardization of battery testing for grid applications.

  5. Continue to fund research, development and deployment (RD&D) to reduce DES costs, including cell chemistry, materials and manufacturing, packaging, thermal components, and balance of plant-related costs such as power conversion, interconnection, communication, controls, and protection.

  6. Implement a national outreach campaign to educate stakeholders about the benefits of DES systems.

NAATBatt is a trade association of advanced battery and materials manufacturers dedicated to making sure that the United States remains a leader in advanced battery, electric vehicle and smart grid technologies.

Comments

mahonj

I don't see how DES makes electric vehicles more affordable for consumers.
If anything it will make EVs more expensive as it increases demand for batteries, driving up prices.

I can see how it enables more wind / solar, fine, but I don't see how it impacts EVs.

It sounds someone is trying to get money from government.

DavidJ

I think the idea is for the DES to be made from used car batteries. Creating a market for the used batteries would decrease the total ownership costs for the BEV owner and so should increase the number of BEV.

Should there be investment in flow batteries, like those mentioned recently? Good for this application, but might be superfluous if lots of car batteries kicking around.

Davemart

@DavidJ:
If they are talking about 300GW of storage by 2022 they are not going to be usuing used car batteries, as lithium batteries are only just starting to be built in volume now.

At a conservative $200kwh they are talking about spending
$600bn.
Renewables everywhere advocates rarely talk about the implied associated expenditure, so their already extremely expensive cunning plans get far, far worse.

SJC

Rather than spend $60 billion per year on batteries, I would spend $20 billion per year offsetting the price of EVs, retrofitting trucks for CNG/CNG and building fuel plants from IGCC retrofits. I would pay for this with a carbon tax.

We do not have the capacity to supply the EV industry with enough packs for 1 million cars per year, now they want to demand even more. This makes no sense, the grid can wait for used EV batteries.

HarveyD

Let's not underestimate the world's capacity to produce as many batteries as the world market can sell and more. Large Automated 24/7 battery factories will mass produce all the improved batteries needed at a much lower cost (1/2 to 1/4) than today's $375/Kwh Leaf units.

Within five to ten years, as many as 50M battery packs will be available for stationary duties every year. Toyota has already started an interesting recycling program for stationary use in Japan.

SJC

I will believe that when I see it. It is good that EVs sell in the 10s of thousands per year and not the 100s of thousands. Could, should would, are all projection words, but CAN and ARE have more meaning.

SJC

It seems like GM wants to drive the price of batteries down using OPM (Other People's Money) I.E. those tax payer's dollars. Economies of scale may be pushed out already, there are also yield issues, not every cell and every pack passes burn in.

IMO, the only way they can bring down the price of batteries to the $200/kWh is the next breakthrough. Once they get vanadium, sulfur or some other method that increases the energy density, they will get there. If I can produce fewer cells to get the same capacity, I can sell it for less.

Herm

"IMO, the only way they can bring down the price of batteries to the $200/kWh is the next breakthrough."

Have you checked the price of laptop batteries lately?.. about $100/kWh, with lots of waste in the packaging of such a small cell.

SJC

Laptops are not EVs and I assume you know this. EV cells are a completely different chemistry made to take a massive charge and discharge....apples and oranges comparison.

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