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Judith Judson, Commissioner of the Department of Energy Resources spoke at last week's NEECE conference. She told the audience that reducing daily peaks in electricity demand is one of her department's top priorities, because it will make the electricity grid more efficient--and it will moderate electricity bills.
Commissioner Judson noted that the top 1% of hours in the year accounts for 8% of the state's electricity spending, and the top 10% of hours accounts for 40% of MA electricity expenditures.
She pointed to energy storage as a "game changer" for meeting peak demand in business and for the electricity grid. Businesses can, "use energy generated during low cost off-peak periods to serve load during expensive peak."
The price of battery storage has declined sharply in recent years, and according to the Commissioner, it will drop in half again by 2019. Hence, energy storage deployment has grown rapidly--and is projected to grow 500% in the next five years.
The MA legislature is considering legislation that will incentive businesses to use energy storage, as California does. In addition, the DOER will soon announce demonstration project grants for peak demand reduction, including storage.
Between dropping prices and financial incentives, it's clear that energy storage will soon become an attractive proposition for MA hotels.
(There are several other strategies for reducing a building's peak demand besides batteries. Commissioner Judson recognized the BuildingIQ product, which uses predictive software, often used in concert with batteries. A BuildingIQ speaker will make a presentation at our June 30 meeting.)
Climate Ready Boston released its Climate Projections Consensus Report, which was written by state-wide climate scientists. It explains the impacts projected for Boston through 2100: extreme temperatures, sea level rise, extreme precipitation and coastal storms. The website has both a summary slide-show and the complete document.
The group's next report, An Integrated Vulnerability Assessment, will have more specific information for Boston businesses and residents. It will delineate the neighborhoods, properties and infrastructure that are most at risk, and projections for when each will become vulnerable. This report will be released in the coming months.
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