My home state (California) has very ambitious climate change mitigation policies. We are really further down this path than any other U.S. state, and most other nations. Before we started this process, we already had a very diverse generation mix, that had substantial renewable and zero-carbon generation. As we evolved this further away from fossil-fuels, we discovered a very powerful tool, battery energy storage systems (BESS). We now have the largest BESS fleet of any economy except China.
Deep decarbonization of electricity generation together with electrification of many end-use activities are necessary to limit climate change and its damages. Wind and solar generation, which have no operating carbon dioxide emissions, have experienced major cost reductions, and are being deployed at scale globally. These are likely to provide a large share of future total generation. Unlike traditional generators, the output from these variable renewable energy (VRE) resources depends on weather conditions, which sometimes change rapidly. Thus, VRE generators cannot be dispatched to follow variations in electricity demand. Electricity storage, the focus of this report, can play a critical role in balancing electricity supply and demand and can provide other services needed to keep decarbonized electricity systems reliable and cost-effective.
