The final Energy Storage Options for North Carolina report has been released.

In response to House Bill 589, NC State researchers, including the NC Clean Energy Technology Center, began a study of energy storage technologies late last year to address how energy storage can provide value to North Carolina consumers based on factors such as capital investment, value to the electric grid, net utility savings, net job creation, impact on consumer rates and service quality, and any other factors related to deploying one or more of these technologies.

The Energy Storage Study addresses the feasibility of energy storage technology use in North Carolina, including any grid services that energy storage could provide, the potential economic impact of energy storage deployment for electricity ratepayers, and the identification of existing policies and recommended policy changes that may be considered to address a statewide coordinated energy storage policy.

“North Carolina’s power sector faces a rapidly increasing penetration of renewable energy as well as economic and environmental pressures to decrease coal-fired electricity production,” the report states. “We believe that now is the appropriate time to consider the role that energy storage may play in the state’s future power system. Energy storage can help ensure reliable service, decrease costs to rate payers, and reduce the environmental impacts of electricity production.”

“The electric power system is a very large and complex machine, and several grid-related services must be fulfilled simultaneously by different technologies,” according to the report. “In addition, investor-owned utilities, municipal utilities and cooperatives, independent power producers, and consumers all play a role in how the grid functions. Energy storage can be utilized by different parties to fulfill many services and applications.”

View the final report on Energy Storage Options for North Carolina.

In addition to the report, data and models will be posted as they become available on the Energy Storage Study website here.