(Canary Media) Grid storage investment is surging worldwide, but the U.S. has emerged as the undisputed global leader — for now.
Energy storage allows the electrical grid to balance supply and demand. More importantly for countries’ climate goals, it also transforms super-cheap but intermittent wind and solar power into a still-cheap but more reliable resource. Almost all the recent storage investment has gone to lithium-ion batteries, though new technologies and old ones, like pumped hydro storage, are vying for a foothold.
The vast majority of lithium-ion battery manufacturing happens in Asia. So how did the U.S. take the lead in grid storage investment? Through a combination of state policy support, competitive market rules and a little (but not much!) help from the federal government.
U.S. battery developers made their first breakthrough by providing ancillary services, the rapid-fire moment-by-moment adjustments that keep the grid humming. Batteries can do this faster than traditional power plants can, and they gained an early foothold in the Mid-Atlantic PJM power market after rule changes allowed batteries to compete there.
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