The Clean Energy Fund continues to drive attention to Washington State. GTM Research named Washington one of the top five states where energy storage could thrive thanks to smart grid pilot projects funded in part by the Clean Energy Fund.
CleanTech Alliance members active in energy storage include (among others) UniEnergy Technologies, 1Energy Systems, Demand Energy Networks, EnerG2, Snohomish PUD, Puget Sound Energy, Avista, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Washington State University and the University of Washington.
According to the article, posted on GreenTech Media, Senior Energy Storage Analyst Ravi Manghani is tracking five states that are likely to yield future energy storage deployments. These states include Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, Maryland and Illinois.
Specific to Washington State:
Washington's Clean Energy Fund was created in 2013 to expand clean energy projects and technologies throughout the state. In the first quarter of this year, two energy storage projects that will be financed through a portion of the $40 million fund were commissioned.
The top-five designation is truly a testament to the booming energy storage sector in Washington State. David Benson, Partner at K&L Gates, responded on the importance of the designation with the following statement:
“Energy storage is fundamental to the future of the energy industry. It is a disruptive technology that is changing the way we produce, distribute, manage and use electricity. As costs are coming down and its value is going up, more and more projects are being installed. The Washington Clean Energy Fund’s grants to Avista, Puget Sound Energy and Snohomish PUD funded demonstration storage projects that are critical to this process of developing and implementing energy storage projects. Washington companies supplying the storage technology and software control systems are well-positioned to export their success nationally and even globally.”
The article shines a light on the important work made possible by the Clean Energy Fund, which is currently part of Capital Budget negotiations. Be sure to tell your legislators to support the Clean Energy Fund.
Read the full article on the GreenTech Media website.