ScottMadden, Inc., one of North America’s leading energy consulting firms, recently presented at the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) Finance West event in San Francisco, California. This event brought together renewable energy investors, developers, and purchasers to discuss market trends, renewable energy projects, financing mechanisms and policies, and the investment in renewables.
During the event, ScottMadden and ACORE released a co-authored report titled, “Beyond Renewable Integration: The Energy Storage Value Proposition.” This report synthesizes available information on energy storage in order to provide an overview of energy storage applications and benefits. In so doing, the paper brings context and understanding to seemingly complex issues and provides a construct for understanding the current state of energy storage and its readiness for growth, addressing questions such as:
- What are the specific applications for energy storage, and how do they provide benefit?
- How can energy storage benefits best be valued and monetized to accelerate adoption?
Highlights from the report include:
- Energy storage is providing clear economic value in areas where storage provides a direct benefit to the system and where markets or rate structures exist that have clear mechanisms to monetize those benefits.
- In addition to their primary applications, many energy storage systems provide benefits to the power system as a whole, including operational flexibility and enhanced reliability. However, benefits provided to the grid are not always included in cost-benefit analyses, and as a result, the potential value of storage is only partially recognized in today’s markets. Changing this will help storage reach its full potential.
- Overall price-reduction estimates for energy storage range between 12% and 15% per year, with the cost of some technologies dropping by up to 50% within the next five years.
- Two markets (including California) accounted for 82% of the U.S. annual installed energy storage capacity in 2015, and California’s 1.3 GWs by 2020 mandate for storage is among the key policies driving additional deployment in the West.
“Energy storage is increasingly recognized for the benefits it can provide to the system and the potential value streams it can create. As the value of energy storage becomes fully realized, adoption of storage will grow, playing a key role in enabling the transformation of the grid,” said Chris Vlahoplus, partner and clean tech & sustainability practice leader at ScottMadden.
Click here to read the full report. For more information about our Clean Tech & Sustainability practice, contact us today.
About ACORE
The American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to providing value to the renewable energy industry through market development, policy changes, and finance. With hundreds of member companies from across the spectrum of renewable energy technologies, consumers, and investors, ACORE is uniquely positioned to promote the policies and financial structures essential to growth in the renewable energy sector. The organization’s annual conferences in Washington, New York and San Francisco set the industry standard in providing important venues for key leaders to meet, discuss recent developments, and hear the latest from senior government officials and seasoned experts. To learn more, visit www.acore.org | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
About ScottMadden’s Clean Tech & Sustainability Practice
Leveraging our energy expertise, the ScottMadden Clean Tech & Sustainability practice helps our clients effectively navigate through the quickly changing energy landscape. We specialize in assisting our clients with sustainable energy strategies and making smart portfolio choices. We work with our clients to understand and effectively utilize cleaner, renewable sources of energy, such as nuclear, wind, solar, biomass, and biofuels. Our experienced team of energy practitioners understands the roles of energy efficiency, demand response, and storage as part of an integrated strategy. We also assist clients with sustainability, bringing an understanding of energy-unique concerns.
About ScottMadden, Inc.
ScottMadden is the management consulting firm that does what it takes to get it done right. Our practice areas include Energy, Clean Tech & Sustainability, Corporate & Shared Services, and Grid Transformation. We deliver a broad array of consulting services ranging from strategic planning through implementation across many industries, business units, and functions. To learn more, visit www.scottmadden.com | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
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Media contact:
Kimberly Dao
kimberlydao@www.scottmadden.com
508-202-7925