NAATBatt Visits the Pacific Northwest

NAATBatt International held its latest member site visit in Seattle, touring 1Energy Systems, UniEnergy Technologies and Snohomish PUD.

What did they think of our burgeoning energy storage industry? Here’s a pulled statement from the NAATBatt blog recap.

But the most noteworthy thing about the visit was seeing the high degree of commitment to storage in the Pacific Northwest coupled with an intense cooperation among those working in the field. While California and New York garner much of the attention in the industry, it is apparent that there is a concerted regional effort underway to turn the Pacific Northwest region and the companies based in it into a major force in the storage industry. Local governments, utilities, and research institutions are going “all in” on storage technology in a way that many outside the region may not yet fully appreciate. That degree of cooperation stands somewhat in contrast to the highly competitive and intensely proprietary approach to storage technology that seems to dominate the culture in some other regions better known for their storage projects.

 

What dividends this culture of cooperation will ultimately pay has yet to be determined. But the Pacific Northwest is a place that all who are interested in storage technology should keep a close eye on. NAATBatt members were lucky this week to get an early look.

The NAATBatt team offers a full meeting recap on their blog.