By Sarah Shemkus for Energy News Network.
Broadcast version by Kathryn Carley for New Hampshire News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration

The early results of a New Hampshire battery storage pilot are being widely hailed, but it remains unclear whether the program will be expanded to test new models and new ways of benefiting consumers. 

The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission issued an order Wednesday declaring that the first 20 months of the pilot, run by Liberty Utilities, met its goals. The order requires the company to file a new proposal by May 30 for how it will continue, modify, or expand its pilot program.

Liberty Utilities in November released a report finding that the first phase of its battery storage pilot, in which the utility provided batteries to 96 homes, yielded significant cost savings for participants and effectively discharged power into the grid during periods of peak demand. 

“I am extremely enthusiastic about the pilot and would like to see it continue to thrive and even expand,” said Donald Kreis, New Hampshire’s consumer advocate on energy issues. 

Getting batteries off the ground

Battery storage technology is becoming increasingly popular for its potential to lower costs, reduce carbon emissions, and improve resilience in the face of power outages. But a widespread, coordinated deployment of batteries to maximize the benefits is still in its early days. The New Hampshire pilot is the first such effort in the state and could therefore provide a model for future deployments. 

The idea for the pilot program was first introduced in 2017. Liberty Utilities, which serves a small territory on the western edge of the state, proposed buying 1,000 batteries and deploying them in the homes of volunteers. The utility would also institute time-of-use pricing, allowing participants to charge their batteries at a lower cost during periods of lower demand, then use the less expensive stored power to offset their use when prices were higher, resulting in net cost savings. The stored power would also be available in case of power outages.

Liberty, however, would retain the right to control the batteries when a period of peak demand was expected. The utility would be able to discharge the batteries in the pilot to the grid when demand was highest, reducing costs and passing those savings on to ratepayers. 

Liberty would charge participants a monthly fee, and also spread out some of the cost among its entire base of ratepayers. 

Shaving costs and emissions

Many advocates agreed that the idea was promising, not just financially, but environmentally as well. When the demand for electricity from the grid goes up, it becomes necessary to bring online power sources that are more expensive and more emissions-intensive. Using stored power during times of highest demand can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by lowering the need for this pricier, dirtier energy — especially when batteries are charged using solar panels or power is drawn from the grid at off-peak times, such as overnight. 

“High cost and high emissions are very closely correlated,” said Sam Evans-Brown, executive director of Clean Energy New Hampshire. “Any savings on those peak events should have the potential to avoid a lot of emissions, because those are the dirtiest times of year for the New England grid.”

Still, many stakeholders — including municipal leaders, environmental and consumer advocates, and renewable energy businesses — wanted to see changes to Liberty’s proposal. Some wanted to see firmer plans for customer education and others wanted a commitment to create a similar rate structure for non-residential customers. Several parties argued that the pilot should include opportunities for homeowners to provide their own batteries in order to analyze which ownership structure yielded the most benefits. 

A year of debate and negotiation among stakeholders ensued before a settlement was agreed upon: Liberty would launch the first phase of the pilot including at least 100 and up to 200 batteries, with two batteries to be installed in each participating house. After 18 months, if the first phase met its goals for consumer savings and accuracy in discharging batteries to meet peak demand, the utility would be able to move on to a second phase, in which homeowners would acquire and own their own batteries. The settlement was approved in early 2019.

The report released late last year looks at the first 21 months of phase one and concludes it exceeded the targets set for moving on to the second phase. On average, participants saved 33% on their monthly electricity bills and the system was 79% accurate in discharging during peak demand.

What’s next for the battery program?

Despite these results, it is uncertain when — or if — Liberty will roll out plans for the second phase of the pilot.

Liberty will submit a proposal by the end of May, as required by the utilities commission, “but we don’t know what that proposal will look like at this time,” said Heather Tebbetts, director of business development for Liberty Utilities. 

Some stakeholders, however, would like to see a more decisive move toward a bring-your-own-device program in order to nurture competition in the growing storage sector and to maximize benefits for ratepayers. Adding more choices to the market, they contend, could lower costs as the market takes hold in New Hampshire.

“Liberty did not exactly give a full-throated indication that it was going to move boldly forward with phase two, and I find that disappointing,” said Kreis, the consumer advocate. “I don’t think we should create or sanction a monopoly where no natural monopoly exists.”

Evans-Brown of Clean Energy New Hampshire is also a strong advocate for expanding the pilot to include consumer-owned batteries. In the cost-benefit analysis of the first phase, he noted, a significant portion of the cost comes from the utility ownership of the batteries. The report found that every dollar spent in the first phase yielded 99 cents in benefits. Allowing homeowners to bring their own devices could add even more to the benefits side of that equation, Evans-Brown said. 

“You might be able to do it for less and there might be more benefits for ratepayers,” he said. “But we won’t know until we run that experiment.” 

Evans-Brown has been in touch with Liberty and other stakeholders and is optimistic that a second phase including a bring-your-own-device component will come to pass. Liberty, he said, is “the most forward-thinking investor-owned utility in the state.”

Some in the field, however, think further pilots are unnecessary. Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont already have bring-your-own-device programs up and running, said Chris Rauscher, senior director of market development and policy at national solar and storage company Sunrun. There is no need, he said, for New Hampshire to test out concepts that are already working in the field. 

“We firmly believe they should stop doing pilots altogether and just create a permanent bring-your-own-device program,” Rauscher said. “I don’t really see the need for pilots.”

There is, however, widespread agreement on the need to pursue a bring-your-own-device model in order to maximize the benefits of growing interest in battery storage for consumers and electric infrastructure. 

“There are people who are ready to buy those batteries and we should be putting these batteries to use for the grid,” Evans-Brown said.


Sarah Shemkus wrote this article for Energy News Network.


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Connecticut is the subject of an offshore wind study which aims to identify supply chain opportunities for the state and the Northeast region.

Connecticut is committed to creating 100% zero-carbon electricity by 2040. So far, it has procurements for 1.5 gigawatts of offshore wind. The state's first offshore wind farm will be operational next year.

Kristin Urbach, executive director of the Connecticut Wind Collaborative, said the study can explore many offshore wind priorities.

"To pinpoint areas where supply chains currently fall short to propose actionable items to strengthen it," Urbach explained. "Also to boost our local economic growth with the support of local manufacturers for its infrastructure development while promoting job creation and sustainable growth in Connecticut."

Urbach pointed out the state can fill supply chain gaps by utilizing the 12,000-person shipbuilding and repair industry. Some experts believe tapping into this workforce can build up offshore wind development.

Connecticut's offshore wind future is strained. Gov. Ned Lamont paused a multistate deal, delaying Connecticut's ability to reach its 2030 goals. The study's findings will be released next spring.

Similar studies are underway in Louisiana, Maine, and South Carolina. Like them, Connecticut can generate sizable amounts of offshore wind power.

Courtney Durham Shane, senior climate mitigation officer for the Pew Charitable Trusts, said offshore wind has quickly become a lucrative business nationwide.

"The United States has already seen $25 billion in offshore wind supply chain investment to date," Durham Shane noted. "Projections are showing that there could be upwards of $100 billion in private investment and nearly 50,000 jobs that are up for grabs domestically."

The New London State Pier terminal became the first East Coast offshore wind marshaling terminal with unobstructed ocean access. It can speed along the staging and assembly of several states' offshore wind projects. New York State's first offshore wind farm created 75 jobs at the facility, a number which is slated to double.

Major electric grid operator PJM Interconnection estimates it'll cost more than $14 billion to provide electricity for 2025-2026, up from $2.2 billion last year.

That price tag has advocates worried about rising utility bills and public health impacts, partly because of PJM's continued use of gas and coal.

Marcia Dinkins is the founder and executive director of the Black Appalachian Coalition and a member of Black Women for Change.

She said people in the company's 13-state region - including West Virginia and the Ohio Valley - have higher rates of cancer, developmental delays, premature birth, and death from the continued reliance on coal.

"We're seeing high rates of asthma and chronic illness," said Dinkins. "Families are already struggling with access to affordable health care."

PJM says increased usage, power plant shutdowns, and increased operation costs are all driving up the cost of electricity.

Mountain state ratepayers saw a 90% increase in average residential electricity bills between 2005 and 2020 - higher than all states except one, according to Conservation West Virginia.

Dinkins explained that grid operators use the capacity auction process to make sure there's enough power available to meet future demand.

"And so at the risk of the everyday citizen," said Dinkins, "this increase through their process becomes a burden to the people living in West Virginia or along the Ohio Valley."

A Pew Research Center survey from last year found 67% of Americans say the U.S. should prioritize developing alternative energy sources, such as solar and wind.

But just 31% say they are ready to phase out the use of oil, coal and natural gas completely.

Minnesota's solar energy outlook took a big step forward this week with a new project coming online, bringing the conversation back into focus about the state's carbon-free electricity goal.

Billed as one of the nation's largest solar operations, Xcel Energy said phase one of its Sherco facility is now delivering power to customers around the upper Midwest. Officials said it is generating more than 220 megawatts of low-cost solar power and is expected to top 700 megawatts once the other two phases are complete.

Bria Shea, regional vice president of regulatory planning and policy for Xcel Energy, said the facility complements the company's long-standing efforts to build up wind energy capacity.

"We've made a lot of progress already but the Sherco solar project will certainly help us go even further," Shea explained.

Under Minnesota law, regional utilities are required to produce 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040. Shea pointed out Xcel is at 65% and the company feels confident about meeting the goal.

The state as a whole is at 54% and experts said with some urgency, closing the remaining gap is within reach. However, some advocates noted the process has left the door open for sources which are not truly carbon-free.

Jessica Hellmann, executive director of the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment, is among those who feel the state is on the right path for emission reductions in the power sector. She said a diverse energy portfolio will still be needed, along with smart management of cleaner sources. Hellman sees carbon sequestration playing a role in this balancing act.

"There's some cool science that's being done on that topic right now," Hellmann contended. "Balancing of emissions and sequestration for a small percentage of our portfolio is most definitely doable."

In the end though, Hellmann stressed sources like wind and solar need to be the top priority. In some cases, taxpayers and ratepayers are asked to help pay for these investments. But she pointed out the technologies are becoming cheaper and there will be a payoff when the connection between fossil fuels and climate change is factored in.

"Smaller climate change, smaller damages, smaller costs to manage that," Hellmann emphasized, as opposed to "larger climate change, more damage, more costs."


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