Full Title: Utility-Scale Energy Storage: Technologies and Challenges for an Evolving Grid
Author(s): Brian Bothwell
Publisher(s): Government Accountability Office
Publication Date: March 30, 2023
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
The U.S. electricity grid connects more than 11,000 power plants with around 158 million residential, commercial, and other consumers. Energy storage technologies have the potential to enable several improvements to the grid, such as reducing costs and improving reliability. They could also enable the growth of solar and wind energy generation.
GAO conducted a technology assessment on (1) technologies that could be used to capture energy for later use within the electricity grid, (2) challenges that could impact energy storage technologies and their use on the grid, and (3) policy options that could help address energy storage challenges.
To address these objectives, GAO reviewed agency documents and other literature; interviewed government, industry, academic, and power company representatives; conducted site visits; and convened a virtual meeting of experts in collaboration with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. GAO is identifying policy options in this report.