Community Storage Initiative gains industry support
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) announced on Monday that the Community Storage Initiative gained support from key industry groups, including trade associations, environmental groups, utility companies and manufacturers.
The Community Storage Initiative is an effort to aggregate electric storage resources to address the electric industry’s challenge to energy storage. The initiative calls for the collaboration of industry leaders to improve electric energy efficiency for consumers. The program offers practical ways to increase energy storage availability through collaboration and better utilizing renewable resources.
Charter sponsors of the initiative include the NRECA, the American Public Power Association, the Edison Electric Institute, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Peak Load Management Alliance. Great River Energy Director of Member Services Gary Connett will serve as the program chair.
The initiative has also gained the support of key industry leaders, including the Rocky Mountain Institute, GARN, Ice Energy, the Vaughn Thermal Corporation, Power Over Time, the Steffes Corporation, and Sunnovations, Inc. Various utilities from across the nation have also joined the effort, including Duke Energy, Green Mountain Power and Federated Rural Electric.
The initiative was developed based on research conducted by the Brattle Group, which found residential electric water heaters to be an underutilized energy storage resource. The program seeks to benefit the environment while providing lower energy and grid optimization to consumers.
