New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approves contract with Rutgers to perform energy storage analysis
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) approved this week a contract with Rutgers University to perform an analysis of the state’s energy storage needs and opportunities.
The analysis will assist the state in meeting the energy storage targets set by the Clean Energy Act of 2018 of 600 MW of energy storage by 2021 and 2,000 MW of energy storage by 2030.
“The ability to store energy is critical for our future and for accomplishing Governor Murphy’s ambitious clean energy goals for New Jersey,” NJBPU President Joseph L. Fiordaliso said. “Energy storage systems will provide emergency backup power for essential services, offsetting peak loads, and stabilizing the electric distribution system, which ultimately will benefit the ratepayer.”
The report will summarize the analysis and discuss and quantify the potential benefits and costs associated with increasing energy storage and distributed energy resources in New Jersey. It will also provide recommendations for ways to increase opportunities for energy storage and distributed energy resources in the state. Additionally, the analysis will assess whether the implementation of renewable electric energy storage systems would promote the use of electric vehicles in New Jersey as well as the potential impact on renewable energy production.
The contract is for six months starting on Nov. 1. The proposed budget for the analysis and report is $300,000 in funding from BPU industry assessment funds.
