Behind-the-Meter Battery Energy Storage in Minnesota Assessment of Value, Challenges, and Policy Opportunities

Abstract

The conversion and storage of electrical energy as mechanical or electrochemical potential is often said to be a game-changing technology when it comes to the modernization of the world’s electric grids. While this may be true in some ways, energy storage has always been the linchpin of grid reliability. However, modern technology is changing the way we are able to harness energy storage to the benefit of the grid, the climate, and energy consumers of all types. In the early 20th century, as power lines first connected homes and businesses to electricity, the grid was designed for one-way flow of electrons. There was a clearly delineated path, wherein electricity was generated in power plants (typically coal, biomass, or hydroelectric), transferred through transmission lines and distribution networks, and ultimately consumed by residential, commercial, and industrial customers. In this way, the grid was designed to move electricity through space from producer to consumer.