ScottMadden to Discuss Key Storage Considerations

ScottMadden, Inc., one of North America's leading energy consulting firms, will soon join industry leaders as a sponsor and presenter at Infocast's Storage Week being held February 27-March 1 in San Francisco, CA. This event provides an opportunity to hear from the senior executives and active financiers at the forefront of deploying behind-the-meter and grid-connected energy storage systems as they explore the road to bankable projects.

The past year has seen substantial advances in the regulatory treatment of storage. What best practices are emerging regarding storage in IRPs, procurements, valuation of services and establishing multiple revenue streams? The panel, "Improving State Regulatory Policies to Reap the Benefits of Storage," will focus on how leading regulators are establishing a level playing field for the consideration and valuation of storage. Kevin Hernandez, director at ScottMadden, will serve as the moderator.

"Regulators, in addition to utilities and other stakeholders, have come to understand the importance of energy storage in meeting many of their renewable portfolio standards and other policy goals," explains Mr. Hernandez. "The first step in allowing storage to fulfill its potential is to address unintentional regulatory barriers, but what's really exciting is the variety of ways regulators are incenting and developing new markets for energy storage at the state level."

Additionally, Mr. Hernandez will moderate a panel focused on determining the locational value of storage and when to deploy non-wires alternatives. How do utilities best determine where and when to site storage as an alternative to traditional transmission and distribution technologies? How is storage being incorporated in IRPs and other planning processes? How are they determining values? This session will address these key questions and more.

Lastly, Scott Roulston, senior associate at ScottMadden, will serve as moderator for a panel geared toward longer-duration storage technologies. Lithium ion batteries have gotten the bulk of deployment in projects, but they have acknowledged weaknesses and limitations, including duration, need for thermal management, and degradation under excessive cycling. This panel will examine the maturation of non-lithium battery and other technologies: their costs, performance characteristics, deployments, and applicability.

"The future sweet spot for storage technologies will be in flexible, four-plus hour duration applications. This is where alternative technologies to lithium ion such as flow batteries may gain a foothold in more mature storage markets that have effective measures for lifetime costs," says Mr. Roulston.

ScottMadden | www.scottmadden.com