MIT Enterprise Forum’s Energy Storage: New Business Models Fuel Rapid Growth
Energy storage has always been a part of the power system, but mainly at the edges - think uninterruptible power system storage, flywheels, ice-based storage, and pumped hydro. Research and development efforts spawned many new ideas, but markets were not ready for widespread adoption of the technology. Now, energy storage is poised to become a central piece of a rapidly growing clean power system, helping to displace fossil fuel generation, reduce emissions and provide power during outages caused by frequent weather events. According to Wood Mackenzie Power and Renewables, 1000 MWh of energy storage was deployed in the US between 2013 and 2017; and just in 2018 alone over 1200 MWh will be deployed! By 2023 over 11,700 MWh of energy storage is forecasted. Growth has been largely driven by storage initiatives and demonstration projects in state policy, rate-setting and incentives. Changes in federal rules for energy storage markets requiring equal treatment of energy storage with other power sources are likely to drive even more adoption. Given this impressive growth, there will be tremendous opportunities for start-ups, especially in the commercial, industrial and residential markets.