News in brief from around the world in energy storage, this time from the USA.

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) hosted a technical conference on hybrid resources – pairing storage with generation – examining in order to overcome barriers that exist to the otherwise fastest-growing phenomenon of the grid.

What has been described by the head of its federal regulator as the “single most important act” the US could take in smoothly transitioning to a “clean energy future” will become reality, with distributed energy storage set to join wholesale markets and compete to provide services on a “level playing field” with fossil fuel resources.

Approval has been given to the compliance plans of two more US RTOs and ISOs to be filed under FERC Order 841, the ruling set by the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) designed to open up regional grid operators’ wholesale markets to electricity storage.

Regulatory changes at the national level coupled with policy programmes in leading states will drive residential and commercial energy storage to new heights, according to various sources at this week’s Energy Storage International in California.