California passes country's first bill to mandate targets for energy storage technologies

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California, the state that always wants to be first, adopted the country's first energy storage bill this week. The new law, sponsored by Attorney General Edmund G. Brown, directs the California Public Utilities Commission to establish targets for utility adoption of cost-effective energy storage technologies. The California Energy Storage Alliance was quoted in the Imperial Valley News as saying the new law would give a big boost to the energy storage industry and create up to 10,000 manufacturing jobs. Energy storage has a huge role in the integration of intermittent renewable energy sources like wind and solar, which don't necessarily provide power during peak demand periods. Grid-scale energy storage provides a way to use power from renewables when it's needed most, reducing the need to bring polluting peaker plants online and enhancing overall grid reliability. Last month, the California Air Resources Board adopted a new standard that requires the state to get 33% of its electricity from renewables by 2020. The new California law also could spell bonus for wind and solar developers in other western and southwestern states because it looks like California can't produce enough power on its own to meet the state's more than hefty electricity demand.

Quick Take: It's likely that a combination of state-level policies like California's, Energy Department incentives and growing interest from investors means there's a pretty bright future for energy storage as it assumes a larger and larger role in smart grid renewables integration. Agree? Disagree? Use the Talk Back comment form below to weigh in. 

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