The pace of utility-scale battery storage deployment has accelerated since 2020, partly driven by continued technology cost reductions, renewable portfolio standards and, more recently, by storage targets set by some U.S. states.
Given the growing importance of energy storage in the future, resource planners are interested in understanding how this technology should be integrated into their long-term planning studies and modeling tools. Energy storage is seen as a valuable resource to support grid decarbonization efforts because of its capability to provide flexibility to systems with an increasing penetration of renewables. Questions that planners are asking include:
- What types of energy storage technologies and features should be included? What services should be considered when modeling energy storage?
- How spatially- and temporally- detailed does the model need to be in order to accurately value energy storage?
- What simplifications affect the assessment of energy storage in long-term planning?
This technical brief reviews information from recent integrated resource plans (IRPs) and planning studies, peer-reviewed journal articles, and several EPRI technical reports, to understand approaches and modeling practices used by electric companies and planners, as well as use cases of storage in long-term resource planning.
Authors Karen Tapia-Ahumada, Swanson, S., and Nidhi R. Santen