Energy storage is taking off as the state moves to make development easier and more profitable, but the horizon isn’t all clear for the sector.
Just outside Boston, a developer is getting set to build a 700-megawatt storage facility that is expected to dwarf every other battery project in New England. One town over, another energy company just closed on $850 million in financing to build a 250-MW battery. Down near the Rhode Island border, ground has been broken on a 200-MW storage facility that is expected to be up and running by the end of the year.
These and roughly a half dozen other projects at various stages are taking advantage of policies Massachusetts has put in place to help reach its goal of getting 5 gigawatts of battery storage capacity online by 2030, with another 5 GW to follow by 2035.
While several larger and generally sunnier states top the list for installed storage capacity — California boasts a whopping 23 GW — Massachusetts’ ambition and policies put it at the forefront of the push to get more batteries on the grid. Thirteen states have set procurement targets for battery storage, but Massachusetts’ total of 10 GW by 2035 is the highest. And its policy landscape is setting the state up for success, observers say.
“Massachusetts is really a leader in this space,” said Erin Smith, energy and grid policy director for the Environmental League of Massachusetts. “We’re ahead of the pack as it relates to encouraging battery buildout.”
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