Advocating for an investment tax credit (ITC) for energy storage, a Day of Action will be launched tomorrow (8 September 2021) by the US national Energy Storage Association (ESA).
A federal ITC has been previously described as the quickest way to incentivise and support the deployment of energy storage technologies, including but not limited to battery storage, in the US. 2019 analysis by Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables forecast a boost in deployments of about 20% if the ITC were to be introduced.
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The ITC has been successful in pushing forwards the US solar industry over the last few years. At present however, the ITC only applies to energy storage facilities which are directly paired with solar generation, charging at least 70% of their stored energy from the colocated solar power plant. ESA is pushing for a 30% ITC for standalone energy storage, preferably with a direct-pay option, which would make the process of obtaining rebates simpler and quicker. The association recently reiterated that the ITC remains its key policy advocacy priority.
Supported by other industry groups including the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST), ESA’s Day of Action will include letters being sent en masse to Congress, ahead of deliberations by the House of Representatives. The association will also provide those who sign up with social media posts that can be widely shared to spread the word.
There had been a hope that the ITC — or #StorageITC to use ESA’s social media hashtag of choice — would be included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill that recently got passed in the Senate, but with that opportunity having gone, the measure could be included in Budget Reconciliation this year.
In an April interview with this site, Yann Brandt, CFO at utility-scale energy storage system integrator and technology provider FlexGen said that while energy storage is already booming in many parts of the US, the introduction of an ITC would make “energy storage work all over the place,” from an economic viewpoint, changing the market overnight.
You can sign up to support the Day of Action here.