Australian Prime Minister Addresses Joint Meeting Of CongressSince President Trump’s election to office, his administration has made it very clear that building and restoring infrastructure is at the top of their “to-do” list.  The Energy Storage Association and their supporters are looking to turn Trump’s priority into an opportunity for their agenda.  To create this opportunity, the ESA, and other supporting organizations, are turning to Congress for assistance.

Attempts to gain support and assistance from the U.S. Federal Government have been taking place since the Inauguration.  The executive director of the ESA, Matt Roberts, has been expressing his desire to capitalize on energy storage opportunities since February.  The Trump administration has appeared to be receptive of the ideas and suggestions that energy storage advocates are making.

In the meantime, the ESA has been communicating with Congress about their goals for Trump’s infrastructure agenda.  Energy storage advocates are specifically interested in government plans to enhance grid technology and infrastructure.  Supporters believe that energy storage systems will address demand response issues and grid reliability.  Storage systems are said to increase efficiency and reliability for grid technology and generation resources.  These opinions were submitted to Congress in a letter that detailed several other benefits that advocates feel could enhance grid infrastructure.  From a financial perspective, the costs of energy storage systems are attractive.  Analysts report that costs have decreased by 30% in one year.

Gaining support from Congress could help the energy storage organizations involved to capitalize on infrastructure opportunities, but the support has the potential to assist the energy storage industry in other ways as well.  The energy storage industry is in need of legislation to allow businesses and organizations to grow.  At this point in time, industry growth is difficult because of the lack of government legislation.  Many feel that the energy storage industry will experience success in this area because of the bipartisan support surrounding energy storage.  Both Republicans and Democrats can see the benefits of this cost saving, efficiency increasing technology when implemented on the grids.

Supporters of the energy storage systems feel that the benefits of public policy for the industry will extend beyond national borders.  The United States are currently the global leader in this industry.  Industry organizations have reported experiencing 100% growth in commercial deployment last year.  By creating federal and state legislations and public policy the U.S. will be able to maintain their current position as an industry leader.  Public policy will also foster further growth for the companies that have been advocating on behalf of the energy storage industry.

Congress has not officially expressed any formal support or policy initiatives at this point, but the 52 companies that gave their support to this petition are hopeful.  The ESA and other organizations such as Lockheed Martin, AES Energy Storage, Sunverge, Panasonic, LG Chem, the National Electrical Contractors Association, and several others hope to continue their efforts on both the federal and state level.  Although there are no official plans at this point, future policies and growth opportunities will bring jobs and potential success in the international market.