Senate committee advances bill on energy storage

Leadership of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee advanced a legislative package to promote energy storage.

The package was reported as an amendment to the Better Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Act introduced by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).

“Energy storage technology holds such great promise in the fight against climate change. Supporting current technology and advancing next-generation energy storage will allow us to integrate more renewables, such as wind and solar, which in turn will help to reduce emissions,” Collins said. “The BEST Act will help advance energy storage technologies to improve the efficiency of our nation’s electricity grid and help align research efforts on energy storage. I am pleased this bill has been incorporated into a comprehensive energy storage package, and I encourage all of our colleagues to support this bipartisan piece of legislation.”

Energy storage is the process of capturing electricity from the electric grid and storing it for future on-demand use. It can pair with other generation resources to make their output more reliable.

“Energy storage presents a great opportunity to make the grid cleaner, more resilient, and more affordable,” Committee Chair Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) supported the package, that now moves to the full Senate for consideration said. “I commend Senator Collins for her leadership and thank all of the members who helped us reach agreement on this consensus package. It will help us advance energy storage technologies, make intermittent resources more competitive, maintain a reliable supply of energy storage materials, and ultimately reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It also reflects the best traditions of our committee, which is known for its bipartisanship and constructive engagement.”

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said the bill should be mindful of the mineral commodities that energy storage technologies possible.

“Renewable and storage technologies rely on a handful of minerals that occur only in certain countries with weak central governments where China has moved to increase its influence. Because of this, I believe recycling can and should play a larger role in establishing a viable domestic supply of the minerals needed for storage technologies,” Manchin said.

New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) said energy storage capabilities are the key to expanding renewable energy and combatting climate change.