Energy Storage

This policy brief from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) examines the role of energy storage technologies in mitigating electricity industry challenges, integrating renewable energy, and improving grid reliability. It provides a technical overview of various storage methods, analyzes the impact of U.S. federal policies and legislation, and highlights specific large-scale implementation projects across the United States.

• Energy storage technologies offer several systemic benefits, including the ability to manage fluctuating daily demand cost-effectively, maintain power during interruptions or storms, and facilitate the integration of variable renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
• Pumped Hydroelectric Storage and Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) are the primary commercial bulk-energy storage technologies currently deployed. Pumped hydro can reach capacities of 4,000 MW with efficiencies up to 85 percent and lifespans of 60 years, while CAES uses underground geologic features or pipes to store compressed air.
• Various battery and kinetic technologies are used for specific grid and transport applications. Flow batteries are being developed to use inexpensive lithium and sulfur; Molten Salt batteries are used for solar integration (e.g., the 280 MW Solana plant); Lithium-ion batteries are used in electric vehicles and grid services; and Flywheels provide fast-response frequency regulation but are typically limited to 1.65 MW.
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) orders have been critical in creating market access for storage. Order No. 1000 encourages utilities to use storage as a transmission alternative, and Order No. 755 ensures that technologies providing frequency regulation and grid stabilization are compensated based on their performance.
• The Department of Energy (DOE) has funded storage development through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR). JCESR, founded in 2012 with a $120 million appropriation, aims to provide five times the energy storage of current lithium-ion technology at one-fifth the cost by 2017.
• Proposed legislation in the 113th Congress sought to further incentivize storage. The STORAGE Act of 2013 proposed a 30 percent investment tax credit (ITC) for businesses and homeowners, and a 20 percent ITC (up to $40 million per project) for grid-scale systems. The Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act aimed to extend the MLP corporate structure to renewable energy and storage companies to lower capital costs.
• The United States has several landmark storage projects, including the Bath County Pumped Storage Station in Virginia (3,003 MW), the McIntosh CAES Facility in Alabama (the only utility-scale CAES in the U.S.), and the Notrees Wind Farm in Texas, which is the world's largest battery storage system for wind energy.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2013). Energy Storage. https://www.eesi.org/files/IssueBrief_Energy_Storage_080613.pdf

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Energy Storage. 2013. https://www.eesi.org/files/IssueBrief_Energy_Storage_080613.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=Energy Storage |date=August 2013 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/IssueBrief_Energy_Storage_080613.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitute2013energy, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{Energy Storage}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2013}, month = aug, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/IssueBrief_Energy_Storage_080613.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }