Dive Brief:
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The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (CEC) has issued a solicitation for energy storage demonstration projects.
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The CEC expects to issue between 10 and 15 awards for up to 50% of total project costs up to a maximum award of $1.25 million.
- Projects awarded under the Advancing Commonwealth Energy Storage (ACES) program must be commissioned, interconnected, and able to provide operational data within 18 months of contracting with the CEC.
Dive Insight:
Massachusetts in 2015 announced a $10 million Energy Storage Initiative (ESI) to expand the state’s energy storage industry and infrastructure.
In the first phase, the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) conducted and produced a study, State of Charge, which found that the state could support as much as 600 MW of energy storage. The solicitation is the second phase of the ESI program, and it is designed to demonstrate the viability of storage in the state’s grid.
In addition, a bill signed into law in August set in motion the process for Massachusetts to adopt an energy storage mandate, making it the only the third state in the nation to do so.
The Massachusetts DOER is now crafting specific energy storage targets that are expected to be completed by July 2017 and could take effect as soon as January 2020.
