Energy storage is emerging as an integral component to a resilient and efficient grid through a diverse array of potential application. The evolution of the grid that is currently underway will result in a greater need for services best provided by energy storage, including energy management, backup power, load leveling, frequency regulation, voltage support, and grid stabilization. The increase in demand for specialized services will further drive energy storage research to produce systems with greater efficiency at a lower cost, which will lead to an influx of energy storage deployment across the country. To enable the success of these increased deployments of a wide variety of storage technologies, safety must be instilled within the energy storage community at every level and in a way that meets the need of every stakeholder.
Recognizing the importance of addressing safety, the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) worked with industry and other stakeholders to develop the Energy Storage Safety Strategic Plan, a roadmap for grid energy storage safety that addresses the range of grid-scale, utility, community, and residential energy storage technologies being deployed across the Nation. The Plan highlights safety validation techniques, incident preparedness, safety codes, standards, and regulations, and makes recommendations for near- and long-term actions. The Plan is available below for downloading.