ORIGINAL REPORTING: Oregon Lawmakers Order Battery Energy Storage

Oregon saddles up to implement trailblazing energy storage mandate; Oregon's mandate is the second in the nation, but novel in the guidance it gives to regulators on storage

Herman K. Trabish, November 17, 2015 (Utility Dive)

The Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) is working on implementing the state's new energy storage law, which could produce a template for the rest of the nation. While Oregon's law is actually the second in the nation — California enacted a storage mandate in 2013 — sector stakeholders say the law is special in the guidance it provides to regulators on how to value energy storage technologies. Portland General Electric (PGE) has already proved energy storage can offer value to the grid for reliability and for capturing renewables and using the stored electricity when it is needed at its Salem Smart Power Center.

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Oregon House Bill 2193 (H.B. 2193) requires OPUC to issue an order by January 2017 on how PGE and PacifiCorp, Oregon’s dominant electricity providers, must add a minimum of 5 MWh of energy storage in service by January 1, 2020. The bill also limits the amount of storage a utility can procure or develop at 1% of the company's peak load, although they can obtain waivers from the OPUC for larger systems if more than one utility shares the program and its cost. Any technology that captures energy, stores and delivers it is considered eligible. That includes batteries, flywheels, compressed air energy storage, thermal storage, and pumped hydro-power. Key points in the legislative debates that led to the law's passage include Oregon's need to better integrate renewables by increasing grid flexibility, manage the peak demand strain on the system and to lower greenhouse gas emissions… click here for more

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