A proposal by Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), one of California’s three main investor-owned utilities (IOUs) to deploy large-scale energy storage to replace peaking natural gas plants has been approved by the state’s regulator.

A unanimous vote taken by the US regulator FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) which would allow energy storage and other distributed energy resources to play into wholesale markets has been hailed as a “significant step” forward.

Energy storage is the next obvious addition to solar plants in the UK. Elizabeth Reid of law firm Bird & Bird takes a look at some of the drivers, opportunities – and regulatory obstacles.

Energy storage firms have responded to the outcome of the general election with calls for stability, long term vision and an end to the “regulatory hurdles” that have limited the industry’s growth thus far in the UK.

Even if the US withdraws from the Paris Agreement on climate change, economics and popular support for clean energy mean the industry will not lose its momentum, the chief commercial officer of Younicos has said.

Arguing that energy storage is “critical to ensuring a resilient, reliable, cost-effective and sustainable grid”, the Energy Storage Association joined with 52 other organisations to plead the place of storage in the Trump administration’s infrastructure priorities.

There is a significant opportunity for energy storage under the Trump administration, the US Energy Storage Association has said.

The number of battery storage projects to have won 15-year contracts in the latest Capacity Market auction is a sign of “considerable confidence” in the technology, according to the director of the Electricity Storage Network.

SolarPower Europe is calling on the European Commission (EC) to address both solar power and energy storage in its upcoming Energy Union Package. In light of this, the association’s Task Force on solar & storage has created 10 policy priorities that will need to be considered to develop an appropriate framework for those technologies.

The UK government and regulator Ofgem have jointly launched the long-awaited call for evidence on the future of the country’s energy system, seeking views on the development of a smarter, more flexible and user-friendly network.