Improving Energy Storage Resources Modeling
Charles Yeung is ESPX Chief Marketing Officer and Head of External Affairs. Todd Strauss is ESPX Chief Product Officer and Head of Analytics. David Owens is ESPX Global Member of the Board of Directors.
Rapid growth in data centers, artificial intelligence, and other computing-intensive loads is driving a surge in electricity demand. Accommodating that demand requires major investment in the electric grid, placing electricity affordability at the center of public concern and regulatory discourse. Already contending with tighter resource-adequacy conditions and the challenge of integrating larger shares of variable renewable generation, planners and regulators face mounting pressure to preserve reliability while limiting the cost burden on ratepayers.
In our April PUF article, “Utility Scale Energy Storage – Underutilized and Overlooked,” we presented that existing rules and methodologies can prevent system planners and market operators from fully utilizing the capacity and energy available from energy storage resources (ESR). As a result, existing ESR capacity may remain underutilized even as new capacity is sought to meet planning reserve margins.
In this article we examine how improved ESR modeling can help planners address load growth while making fuller use of existing storage in resource-adequacy planning. A PJM case study illustrates how market design affects planning outcomes and points to a potential market-design reform.