Energy Storage and Power Grid Reliability: Evidence from U.S. Electric Utilities

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/12579s573

Abstract

In recent years, the technological capability and cost feasibility of energy storage have improved significantly. These improvements, coupled with pending regulation at the federal, state, and balancing authority level, may lead to higher prevalence of energy storage on power grids earlier than expected. Using a utility-level panel dataset, I regress utility reliability metrics on state levels of energy storage. Controlling for factors such as weather, utility operational characteristics, and geographic features of the utility territory, I find that there is indeed a positive relationship between energy storage capacity and reliability at the utility-level. Specifically, energy storage reduces the frequency at which interruptions occur.

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