On May 1, Dominion Energy Virginia filed their 2020 proposed Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) with the State Corporation Commission. It is their first IRP since the enactment of the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) which requires the utility to install 2.7 GW of energy storage by 2035, in addition to transitioning to 100% clean energy. This proposed IRP is bound to gather a lot of attention, particularly with the utility’s statement that achieving VCEA may increase the average residential monthly bill by $18.94, or 15%, in 2030 (pg 33).
Any long-term decisions for battery storage in the state will be informed by Dominion’s battery pilot program which CRI helped shape, acting as an expert witness for Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC).
There are numerous cost effective use cases for energy storage including transmission and distribution deferral, ancillary services (frequency regulation, spinning reserve), capacity, and energy. As is true for any infrastructure investment, batteries need to be fully utilized in order to be cost effective. In the case of batteries, that means finding ways for the batteries to provide a service 24/7/365 (8,760 hours), or at least as close as feasible taking into account maintenance and other considerations.
Dominion Virginia initially proposed pilots that significantly underutilized the batteries, in some cases using the battery less than 100 hours per year. Additionally, the proposed pilots excluded front-of-meter batteries from participating in PJM markets, a potentially significant revenue stream, and omitted metrics that would allow parties to evaluate the cost effectiveness of the utility’s pilots.
Ultimately Virginia’s State Corporation Commission agreed with issues raised by SELC, with the support of CRI witness, and ordered changes to the pilots that will improve their effectiveness and set storage on the right path in VA.
In the coming months, it will be important to ensure Dominion’s IRP doesn’t make similar assumptions that limit effectiveness of energy storage, thereby artificially increasing costs.