STATE INVESTS IN BACKUP STORAGE FOR SOLAR POWER AND WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS

BPU awards more than a dozen grants to develop and demonstrate energy storage for renewables

The state is funding more than a dozen projects to help make solar and wind power more reliable by providing backup energy-storage systems for the electricity they produce.

These first-ever awards by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities will give nearly $3 million to 13 projects scattered around the state, all of which will supply money to existing solar energy systems. The Atlantic County Utilities Authority grant also will be linked to the facility’s wind system, a familiar sight to tourists arriving at the casino resort.

Energy storage is widely viewed as crucial to promote the development of renewable energy — especially given the intermittent nature of solar and wind generation. The state’s has set a goal of having 22.5 percent of its electricity delivered from renewable energy sources by 2020, but some want it raised to 80 percent by 2050.
Read full article at NJ Spotlight