To Export or Not to Export: How Interconnection Policies Can Enable the Flexibility of Energy Storage Workshop

To view the video recording of the webinar and presentation slides, please fill out the form at right (at page bottom if on mobile).

Energy storage systems can be designed to control the amount of power they send to or import from the grid, making them unique assets that can provide both customer and grid benefits. However, most state interconnection procedures do not recognize this operating capability, limiting the benefits of storage and its ability to address grid impacts. To maximize the flexibility that storage has to offer, interconnection rules should enable operating characteristics that storage can support, including non-export and limited-export systems, and update review processes to evaluate grid impacts based on how the system will be operated. Additionally, interconnection processes should allow for system design changes that could help to avoid or mitigate impacts identified during review. This is expected to streamline the process and reduce customer costs.

Participants in this workshop will learn:

• the types of acceptable export control methods that should be considered for non-export and limited-export systems;
• how export-controlled systems should be evaluated during the interconnection process to account for grid impacts; and
• both how current DER systems are reviewed and why states should consider allowing for project design modifications during the review process.

This workshop provides a high-level overview of the various considerations related to connecting non-export and limited-export systems to the grid. The workshop is the first of a multi-part training series on export-controlled DER systems. Future training on this topic will focus on how stakeholders can revise and update interconnection processes to enable more cost-effective and efficient interconnection of export-controlled DER systems.