Today, State Senator Norm Needleman (D-Essex), Senate Chair of the Energy & Technology Committee, led the Senate in its passage of legislation that will benefit electric energy storage statewide in years to come. The bill establishes energy storage goals that are slated to rise in years to come, all the better to encourage and establish use of the technology in coming years, and further requires reporting on efforts to reduce carbon energy waste in Connecticut.
“Increased energy storage is good for Connecticut. It supplies our state with increasing levels of renewably sourced energy and builds our electric grid’s resiliency, which in recent years has only become more important,” said Sen. Needleman. “On top of encouraging renewable energy usage, increased energy storage can prevent disaster in the face of severe storms – just another reason why I am encouraged by this legislation’s passage today.”
Senate Bill 952, “An Act Concerning Energy Storage,” will require the Department of Energy and Environmental Storage to report annual progress on its efforts to achieve increasing energy storage deployment goals of 300 megawatts, or MW, by December 31, 2024; 650 MW by December 31, 2027; and 1,000 MW by December 31, 2030.
The bill will further require the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to develop and implement programs and funding for electric energy storage resources to support adoption, including for residential electric customers, commercial and industrial electric customers, and storage systems connected to distribution systems at the meter and not on customers’ premises. They will also need to report on such programs’ progress. DEEP will be allowed to issue requests for proposals for energy storage projects, with selected proposals intended to achieve sufficient cost effectiveness.
In public testimony, this legislation received significant support and approval by supporters of clean energy, receiving support from groups including the Connecticut Audubon Society, the Citizens Campaign For The Environment and the Connecticut Council Of Small Towns, among others. Citing the state’s defined goals of energy storage deployment, including an admirable goal of 1,000 megawatts by 2031, and the legislation’s support of the implementation of various electric energy storage programs benefitting residential and industrial customers alike.