Energy Storage Association praises aspects of federal spending bill

The Energy Storage Association (ESA) recently applauded increased federal funding for energy storage in the recently passed omnibus spending bill for fiscal year 2018 while noting the absence of certain measures from the legislation that would have advanced energy storage deployment.

The bill includes an approximately $1.5 billion increase in funding for U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) clean energy innovation investments over the prior fiscal year, ESA noted.

The Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) received a 32 percent increase to its grid energy storage applied research and development budget, increasing FY2018 investments in grid storage to $41 million as requested previously by House Republicans.

DOE also received $24 million to continue the work of the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research and will invest $10 million in demonstrations of innovative pumped hydro storage projects.

“While ESA commends Congress for making long-term investments in energy storage innovation, more needs to be done to remove barriers to energy storage and to accelerate its deployment,” ESA said.

ESA highlighted the absence of the bicameral Energy Storage Deployment and Incentive Act, which would clarify the eligibility of energy storage technologies for investment tax credits, and the Advancing Grid Storage Act, which would support smaller utilities, municipalities and rural cooperatives in including energy storage in grid design and planning for first-time investments.

“Given the enabling role energy storage increasingly plays throughout the nation’s electric grid, ESA will continue to advocate that Congress include storage as an eligible investment in energy infrastructure, rural energy programs, and federal disaster planning,” ESA said.