Experts at RE+ Mid-Atlantic Conference Highlight Need for Clear Policies to Support Battery Storage in Clean Energy Transition.

The role of battery storage on the grid was a major focus at the RE+ Mid-Atlantic conference in Philadelphia. Experts discussed the storage strategies for the PJM interconnection area, covering the Mid-American region. Successful implementation of such technology requires clear and purposeful policies at the state level. However, the levels of storage capacity envisioned as an integral part of the clean energy transition may exceed the experience of policymakers, utilities, and developers. The issue was highlighted by Nitzan Goldberger, director of policy and business development at New Leaf Energy, a Massachusetts-based renewable energy developer. From a utility standpoint, the problem seems to be ambitious targets with no clear roadmap showing how to achieve them. Tyler Wakefield, associate executive director of the Energy Policy Design Institute, said specific policies are responsible for a state storage market, or the absence of them.