energy storage: california's new green tech battleground - home energy storage system

California's goal of increasing energy storage to supplement solar power will open up new battlefields for utilities and renewable energy supporters.
While the state is preparing to become a testing ground and a booming market for innovative storage technologies that its policymakers want, this tension already exists.
In a panel discussion hosted by the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday, SolarCity's CEO, Linden Ryf, talking about how long it took a local utility company to approve the grid connection of the battery system installed by his company.
"It takes about eight months to connect.
There is no reason for this, "said Ryan.
"You can't help but think it's slow because there's motivation to stop the game from changing.
Is the average waiting time eight months?
It's crazy, "said Elon Musk, CEO and SolarCity chairman of Tesla Motors, which sells lithium.
Ion battery pack to SolarCity.
The committee invites the two brothers to talk about how regulation can help or hinder innovation.
California has long pursued policies aimed at boosting energy conservation and minimizing the impact of climate change.
While progressive politics should help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in California, these policies take time and effort to develop.
Some of their long
Good or bad, the meaning of the term is not so clear.
The latest examples come from the emerging energy storage market.
The state has just begun implementing a program that requires utilities to use energy storage to help them manage the increasing amount of solar and wind energy flowing into the grid.
These three major investments
By 2020, utilities will collectively purchase or own 1,325 MW of storage.
Utilities can purchase services from the owners of storage devices installed by homes and businesses.
They can also choose from a variety of energy storage technologies, not just batteries.
When the grid maintains a balance between supply and demand, it runs smoothly.
Utilities will use batteries to inject power into the grid to help maintain balance when solar and wind power flow intermittently.
They can also do the task by building natural gas power plants, but policymakers want California to gradually get rid of its dependence on fossil fuels.
By 2020, California utilities had to get 33% of their electricity from renewable sources.
Therefore, the solar power plant in giva has been completed or is under construction or development.
In addition to this, the state's incentive program to encourage households and businesses to use rooftop solar energy has led to nearly 2 gigawatts of installation.
These facilities are not included in the task of 33%.
The growth in the rooftop solar market has attracted companies that want to sell or lease more batteries.
Their goal is for customers who want to use solar energy as a backup power when they go home at night, or use solar energy as a backup power during a power outage.
They also market the idea of using batteries to businesses to reduce the high cost that businesses pay to utilities.
Utilities have resisted regulations to promote rooftop solar power, which not only reduces their income, but also forces them to come up with new ways to make money.
Without energy storage, people rely on their utilities to generate electricity when solar panels cannot generate electricity.
With it, this dependency is likely to disappear, although it is not clear whether each household and business will completely cut off contact with the grid.
Committee chairman Michael Peevey, aware of the conflict between SolarCity and utilities, suggested that Liff and Musk use "a little foreplay" to romance their opponents and get what they want, the comment caused the audience to laugh.
However, in addition to the struggle between utilities and energy storage companies, there are big challenges in creating a market for new technologies-often unverified.
Consumer protection issues need to be considered.
People are not familiar with large battery systems and do not know what to look for in order to effectively compare stores.
When the lack of on-site data shows how long these batteries will last, will these battery systems deliver promised performance over time?
What should be required to ensure that used batteries are recycled?
How much consumers end up paying to support California's renewable energy policy is another big mystery.
There are some projections, but as regulators approve renewable energy projects based on standards that involve more than pricing, these numbers change.
So far, however, this is a gamble that the country is very willing to accept.