Energy Storage Interconnection – Challenges and Solutions

Energy storage projects, like other energy projects, can experience long delays and be assessed high costs when seeking to interconnect with the electricity grid. But unlike other energy projects, energy storage has unique operational attributes that are often not well accounted for in current interconnection processes, and this can lead to storage projects facing undue burdens that may ultimately cause them to become uneconomical. This issue is widely recognized as a significant barrier to states meeting their clean energy and decarbonization goals.

In this webinar, policy experts from national laboratories examined the problem and discussed new initiatives designed to address interconnection challenges. Diane Baldwin (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) and Michael Ropp (Sandia National Laboratory) provided insight on the work being done by the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange” (i2X) program, and Will McNamara (Sandia National Laboratory) discussed interconnection policy recommendations being developed by the newly formed National Consortium for the Advancement of Long Duration Energy Storage. Charlie Vartanian (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) shared technical considerations and possible solutions to the challenges of interconnecting energy storage to the grid.

Speakers:

• Dr. Imre Gyuk, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity
• Diane Baldwin, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Michael Ropp, Sandia National Laboratory
• Will McNamara, Sandia National Laboratory
• Charlie Vartanian, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Todd Olinsky-Paul, Clean Energy States Alliance (moderator)

This webinar is a presentation of the Energy Storage Technology Advancement Partnership (ESTAP). ESTAP is a federal-state funding and information sharing project that aims to accelerate the deployment of electrical energy storage technologies in the U.S. ESTAP is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity, managed by Sandia National Laboratories, and administered by the Clean Energy States Alliance.