Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently joined five other attorneys general and the California Air Resources Board in urging a federal appeals court to uphold orders by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The orders will allow energy storage resources to fully participate and compete in the wholesale energy market, aiding states in their transitions to cleaner, more reliable and more resilient power systems.
"By facilitating the transition to cleaner energy, storage resources can help us address the climate crisis and improve air quality," said Nessel. "For this reason, I have joined with my colleagues and the California Air Resources Board in filing this brief."
In Michigan, Consumers Energy's Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) includes a reliance on battery storage to help integrate renewable power. By counting on an increase in this battery storage, Consumers Energy's IRP should eliminate coal-fired power plants entirely by 2040 and reduce carbon emissions from power plants by 90 percent.
The brief, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, et al v. FERC, urges the court to uphold FERC's orders. The orders require administrators of regional wholesale electricity markets to adopt rules that allow storage resources to fully participate in the competitive electricity market. The brief argues that the orders will enhance the substantial environmental, economic and health-related benefits that energy storage technology including battery storage provides to states.
In their brief, the attorneys general note that energy storage resources provide important benefits to states and their consumers by storing excess generated electricity for later use and injecting power back onto the system when needed, including when customer demand and electricity prices are high. This capability allows storage resources to help states lower electricity bills; create cleaner, more flexible and reliable power systems; and reduce the need for expensive and highly polluting energy generators that run on dirty fuels such as oil, diesel and coal.
Nessel joins the attorneys general of California, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, as well as the California Air Resources Board.
Published: Thu, Feb 20, 2020
