Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Given a broad policy mandate to implement energy storage, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) engaged Alevo Analytics to evaluate the Massachusetts energy grid for energy storage opportunities. The study, released in fall 2016, became the foundation for a 600 MW energy storage goal adopted by the Commonwealth. The State of Charge report heralded a new era for sub-hourly Integrated Resource Planning studies and catalyzed policies at the state and federal level in favor of accommodating energy storage technologies. The report found that utilities could cost-effectively deploy over 1.8 GW of energy storage across the value chain (generation, transmission, distribution and behind the meter) and save ratepayers over $2.3 billion over 10 years.

In this paper, we will discuss the origins of the study, the execution and stakeholder involvement and the policy response in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As the first study of its kind, the report became a model for future energy storage analysis. Subsequent policy development in the state has also become a model for energy policy makers in both regulated and deregulated states. As nearly three years have elapsed since the delivery of the study, the paper will also speak to the longer term implications of the study on the national conversation around energy storage, and how perception and use of the study has changed over time.