48:3-87.8 Energy storage analysis; report.

1. a. No later than one year after the date of enactment of P.L.2018, c.17 (C.48:3-87.8 et al.), the Board of Public Utilities, in consultation with PJM Interconnection, L.L.C., the independent system operator, shall, together with stakeholders including but not limited to third party suppliers and electric public utilities, conduct an energy storage analysis and submit a written report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature concerning energy storage needs and opportunities in the State. In conducting this analysis, the board shall:

(1) consider how implementation of renewable electric energy storage systems may benefit ratepayers by providing emergency back-up power for essential services, offsetting peak loads, and stabilizing the electric distribution system;

(2) consider whether implementation of renewable electric energy storage systems would promote the use of electric vehicles in the State, and the potential impact on renewable energy production in the State;

(3) study the types of energy storage technologies currently being implemented in the State and elsewhere;

(4) consider the benefits and costs to ratepayers, local governments, and electric public utilities associated with the development and implementation of additional energy storage technologies;

(5) determine the optimal amount of energy storage to be added in the State over the next five years in order to provide the maximum benefit to ratepayers;

(6) determine the optimum points of entry into the electric distribution system for distributed energy resources; and

(7) calculate the cost to the State's ratepayers of adding the optimal amount of energy storage.

In conducting the analysis required by this subsection, the board shall also consider the need for integration of distributed energy resources into the electric distribution system and how distributed energy resources may be incorporated into the electric distribution system in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.

b. In conducting the energy storage analysis required by this section, the board shall consult with the Laboratory for Energy Smart Systems in the Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation at Rutgers, The State University, and public and private entities in the State and in other states that have conducted studies concerning, or are implementing technologies for, energy storage and distributed energy resources.

c. The written report shall: (1) summarize the analysis conducted pursuant to subsection a. of this section; (2) discuss and quantify the potential benefits and costs associated with increasing opportunities for energy storage and distributed energy resources in the State; and (3) recommend ways to increase opportunities for energy storage and distributed energy resources in the State, including any recommendations for financial incentives to aid in the development and implementation of these technologies by public and private entities in the State.

d. No later than six months after completion of the report, the board shall initiate a proceeding to establish a process and mechanism for achieving the goal of 600 megawatts of energy storage by 2021 and 2,000 megawatts of energy storage by 2030.

L.2018, c.17, s.1.