By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

As you might imagine, the word on everyone's lips at Intersolar North America - in addition to solar - is storage. Specifically, the question is how much storage can the United States expect to have installed and how quickly it can come. Fortunately, Kelly Speakes-Backman, CEO of the Energy Storage Association, was attending the show to answer exactly those kinds of questions. Speakes-Backman informed the audience at the insanely broadly titled "The Future of PV" session that the United States installed 1 GW of storage last year and is on pace to double that this year to 2 GW, though she was quick to emphasize time and again that she is not just talking batteries - the storage method on which most people in the room and in the general solar industry are focused. "Battery storage is growing exponentially," Speakes-Backman told the crowd. "But that is not the only technology out there. We represent everything from pumped storage to flywheel to lithium-ion batteries, so it's important to note that because everyone assumes you're only talking batteries when you start talking storage in this kind of setting." She noted she has been talking to Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, frequently about what binds the two industries together and what policy initiatives on which the two associations can collaborate. The two have decided they can collaborate on tax treatment and permitting, streamlining both tax credit eligibility and cutting back on the regulatory headaches associated with the latter. "It's great that people can get the investment tax credit if they pair solar + storage, but we believe that storage should be able to get the tax credit by itself," Speakes-Backman said. "That's important, and that's something on which we're working." By 2023, Speakes-Backman said the majority of new energy storage installs will be behind the meter, and by 2025 that number will blossom to 50%. But storage has so much more to offer than than the spread of renewable energy. She said the energy storage industry could create more than 167,000 new jobs if the regulatory structures are put in place to make it happen. The goal, she says, is 35 GW of energy storage capacity by 2025 - and she believes that goal is eminently reachable. You can see how she proposes to do that below. [caption id="attachment_10624" align="aligncenter" width="4032"] This is a great roadmap on how to get the 35 GW of storage by 2025, courtesy of Kelly Speakes-Backman, the CEO of the Energy Storage Association.[/caption]

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

One of the many things I learned from a former colleague of mine (he knows who he is) is the importance of baseload power. Or, as he would say, the absolute non-importance of baseload power. Basically, distributed resources like solar and wind make traditional electricity producers crazy. So crazy, in fact, that they say things like, "What happens if the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing? We need baseload power supplies so we can keep the lights on 24/7." To which Angelina M. Galiteva, founder and board chair of Renewables 100 Policy Institute, an organization dedicated to accelerating the global transition to 100% renewable energy, says, "Baloney." (A sentiment with which my former colleague and I agree.) Galiteva was one of the featured speakers in a broadly titled session called "The Future of PV," and her presentation centered on what California has done and is doing to integrate solar into the grid. And generally speaking, she said, the state has done a great job - so great, in fat, that baseload power has become a myth. "Solar and wind aren't a niche play anymore," Galiteva told the audience. "Wind and solar are the norm. And as prices for storage continue to go down, integrating those resources on the grid are going to become ever easier. "We don't need baseload power anymore," she continued. "What we need is flexibility. Batteries and other storage mechanisms will help us do that." It's not as if Galiveta is unaware that challenges to 100% renewables exist. The "Duck Curve" is, for better and worse, real, and it's not something that can be ignored. "We need to figure out how to smooth the Duck Curve," Galiteva said. "We have the resources to do 100% renewable grid - not just in California but in the entire United States. But there are ramping issues we have to deal with before that can happen. I'm confident we can get there, and I believe that time is coming soon." She also said the Western states need to integrate their grids entirely to help reduce the amount of curtailment. Currently, California is curtailing approximately 3% of its renewable resources. An integrated grid would provide a market for the excess power without curtailment, which would help stabilize the grid and make it more reliable for everyone.

Short summaries today given that Intersolar is winning the battle. On another note, who will be at Solar Battle of the Bands tonight?
100% Renewables, I’m In. A few years ago I sat on a panel with Tony Seba and we debate, with passion, the virtue of extending the ITC for solar. This time, we didn’t share a stage but we did share an opinion. It may not become rule but it could become inevitable that we enter a 100% renewable environment.
More Tariffs? Are You Kidding Me? Trump readies another round of tariffs, $200billion this time. We don’t know the details yet and SEIA is looking into it but at this point, short of having a different President, we have to go along with this since the legislators are not doing much. Let’s just hope we can end this trade fight soon, rather than later.
Bailout Blackmail. Another nuclear plant is threatening closure. I’d like legislators to say, go ahead and spend the money to close it, then take the site and interconnection and drop a bunch of batteries on the spot and build a ton of DG solar to make up the generation.
Presented by ENGIE. ENGIE (formerly SoCore Energy) is a market leader in commercial, industrial, and distributed solar and storage portfolio development with installations across some 25 states. ENGIE offers commercial and industrial companies, electric cooperatives, and communities solar and storage solutions that provide energy cost savings, increased resiliency and carbon reduction opportunities.

Have a great day!

News

 

Have a great day!
Yann

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Tony Seba set the Intersolar North America crowd on fire at his opening session, saying that if the trend in battery prices continue their downward plunge, solar + storage could supply 100% of the U.S. electricity supply by 2030. "That's not too bad for an industry in crisis, is it?" Seba told the crowd to hearty laughter. "But as the country becomes ever-more electrified, it's going to happen." Seba predicted that as battery prices continue to plunge, solar + storage will be lower than transmission costs, making solar the only logical choice for businesses and homes. The electrification of the transportation system will help push the Solar Revolution forward, too. How would this work? Well, think about this: If Seba is right, there will be no new cars sold in the United States by 2025 that won't be electric. But since cars are parked 94% of the time, they become instant storage capacity for individual homeowners. The sticking point, however, will be the utilities. "It's time to break up the utilities," Seba said, expanding on his presentation during a post-keynote speech. "We need a new electricity-generation structure that comes from the bottom up, not the top down." He believes consumers should have the right to generate their own electricity without having to ask permission from utilities to do so. He believes transmission should be decoupled from energy generation. "Don't subsidize anyone, don't support anyone," Seba said. "Let the market work. People should have the absolute right to own and generate their own electricity. Utilities shouldn't just be able to control the electricity." Seba also weighed in on the issue that has continued to fascinate me: the issue of what a transition to solar will look like. In many states, natural gas has been the transition fuel of choice. But as solar + storage prices continue to fall, natural gas is losing ground. In California, for example, there's been an increasing reluctance to allow utilities to build natural gas plants, and the same dynamic is starting to occur in otehr states. Seba offered the prediction that there won't be another peaker plant built in the United States after 2020 because the electrification of everything will make them obsolete. Editor's Note: This story was updated at 2:43 pm on 7/10/18 to reflect that Tony Seba said 2030, not 2020. Thanks to Suzanne Murley for the assist.