New Energy Development Bottleneck Energy Storage

Why do energy companies have a bottleneck?

Energy companies are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in wind farms, solar arrays and batteries, spurred on by federal tax breaks and falling costs. But these projects face a severe bottleneck: It is getting harder and taking longer to connect new power plants to the power lines that carry electricity to homes and businesses.

Could a bottleneck slow the energy transition?

Low-carbon energy technologies are growing, but bottlenecks could slow the energy transition at a time when the rollout of clean technologies needs to accelerate.

Is grid interconnection still a bottleneck?

“It is promising to see the unprecedented interest and investment in new energy and storage development across the U.S., but the latest queue data also affirm that grid interconnection remains a persistent bottleneck,” said Joseph Rand, an Energy Policy Researcher at Berkeley Lab, and lead author of the study.

Are energy bottlenecks a risk for achieving net-zero commitments?

In our energy transition scenario that would achieve existing climate commitments, two-thirds of the potential bottlenecks assessed run a risk of delaying the path to net-zero commitments. Around a quarter of these potential bottlenecks are classified as high risk, without unlocks identified to date.

Can unlocks help address energy bottlenecks?

Although the identified bottlenecks pose major risks for a successful, fast, and orderly energy transition, there are also multiple unlocks that are available today to resolve them and thus mitigate the risks of a delayed transition. When assessing these unlocks, we found that they can help address 11 out of the 16 bottlenecks.

What is the future of energy storage?

Storage enables electricity systems to remain in balance despite variations in wind and solar availability, allowing for cost-effective deep decarbonization while maintaining reliability. The Future of Energy Storage report is an essential analysis of this key component in decarbonizing our energy infrastructure and combating climate change.