Utility Sector Ideas

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>>> US Utility-Scale Battery Storage Capacity to Grow Rapidly


Zacks

by Sanhita Banerjee

October 15, 2019


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-utility-scale-battery-storage-122912817.html


The U.S. electric utility industry is undergoing a transition as companies are fast shifting focus to produce electricity from renewable sources. Per the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), wind, solar and other non-hydroelectric renewables will be the fastest growing source of electricity generation for the next two years. EIA forecasts 10% of utility-scale electricity generation in 2019 and 12% in 2020 from wind, solar, and other non-hydropower renewables sources in the United States.

As electricity generation from wind and solar energy sources is on the rise, the need to store the excess electricity has become essential. Here comes the need for battery storage, which helps store the surplus electricity for use during periods of shortage.

Utilities operating in the United States are trying to cut down emission by implementing innovative technology. The following utilities have invested in battery storage projects.

Xcel Energy XEL, under its Colorado Clean Energy Plan, will replace the Comanche coal units with a $2.5-billion investment in renewables and battery storage, which includes 1,131 megawatts (MW) of wind, 707 MW of solar PV, and 275 MW of battery storage in the state.

In October 2019, Duke Energy Carolinas announced plans to partner with Anderson County, S.C., to build an energy storage project at the Anderson Civic Center, Carolinas. This project is part of the company's plans, announced last October, to invest $500 million in battery storage projects in Carolinas over the next 15 years for electricity generation capacity of 300 MW. In June last year, Duke Energy's DUK subsidiary Duke Energy Florida (DEF) announced plans to construct three battery storage projects with 22 MW capacities.

In March 2019, NextEra Energy’s NEE Florida Power & Light subsidiary announced that it plans to build a 409-MW energy storage project in Florida, which will be powered by utility-scale solar.

We believe these companies are good investment options as these have returned 31.1%, 17.6% and 33.7%, respectively, outperforming the industry’s 13.3% in the past year.

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