How Safety and Permitting Can Help Achieve "a Decade of Execution"

April 5, 2022

By Grace Pratt, Policy Analyst

California is seeing energy storage being added to the grid at unprecedented levels. The pace at which energy storage projects are being contracted, interconnected, and built has been relentless over the past few years through to this day. Energy storage is no longer a concept; it now represents a critical pillar in California meeting its reliability and decarbonization goals.  

We are at the start of the decade of execution, where permitting of energy storage projects by local cities and counties plays a key role in success. The wave of energy storage projects is already arriving in certain counties like Riverside, Monterey, and Kern for large utility-scale energy storage and hybrid solar-storage projects, pressing these jurisdictions to be at the forefront of learning how to safely permit these energy storage projects in their backyards. However, in terms of volume of permitting applications, Los Angeles and San Diego counties are facing high numbers of customer-sited energy storage projects being deployed locally.  

While some of these select cities and counties are facing this first wave of projects, we can expect more on the way. The resource build rate of renewables and energy storage of all scales, sizes, and configurations is going to be relentless through 2045 to meet our decarbonization goals, where studies show energy storage build rates of 2 GW per year over that timeframe. To illustrate the scale of the challenge, California brought 2 GW of energy storage online in 2021 – a record amount of new energy storage capacity in California, let alone any state in the nation. In other words, we need record buildouts every year through 2045. 

To achieve our lofty and ever-important climate goals and electric reliability needs, permitting and deployment of energy storage projects must be done safely and efficiently. Given the scale and scope of the challenge ahead of us, CESA gathered members and key stakeholders in the California energy ecosystem on March 1, 2022 at our annual Market Development Forum (MDF) to discuss how to further a culture of safety in the industry and what is needed to work effectively with fire and permitting departments across the state to prepare for 300% more projects to be deployed in the next ten years, or the Decade of Execution. Some of the key takeaways from the workshop are: 

• Communication with Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs) and/or first responders needs to begin early and continue often:​ Having full communication with local officials and first responders, including fire departments, will help to ensure that everyone is aware of the site and prepared to respond if there is an emergency event. Hazard Mitigation Analyses (HMAs) and Emergency Response Plans (ERPs) should be created before installation begins. As a part of the ERP, points of contact for emergencies should be identified from the ESS parties (e.g., ESS manufacturer, developer/integrator, owner/operator). 

Communication not only needs to occur when sites are permitted but needs to continue throughout the lifetime of the project. For example, any changes in emergency points of contact, project ownership, updates to equipment, or other changes that can affect operations and emergency response. 

• Keeping the process simple and clear will help all parties stay aligned:​ Creating clear approval processes can ensure that ESS developers are prepared for permitting. Model codes can be helpful to implement best practices and maintain consistency across jurisdictions. Checklists of items needed for approval can also help streamline, and Kern County had taken the lead to develop a permitting checklist for their county. 

• Industry is helping to make systems safer on the front end:​ The good news is that the energy storage industry is innovating to make systems safer by creating new energy storage technologies, such as new battery chemistries, designing safer installations with increased ventilation, improved detection of gases, improved fire suppression systems, and more. Additionally, many energy storage manufacturers are stress testing their systems to give emergency responders even better ideas of how these systems react in extreme conditions. 

• Code/standard development is always behind technology development, which will continue to be a challenge:​ While much progress has been made, codes and standards development remains a slow process. By the time codes and standards have caught up to any given technology, storage manufacturers and system integrators may have already updated cell/module technologies, design, and techniques​. Additionally, there is a lack of familiarity with the safety considerations with non-lithium-ion storage technologies. These technologies can provide a variety of benefits, including safety benefits, but more education is needed for AHJs and fire departments to be aware of their unique considerations. 

This workshop was a great way to discuss the progress the industry has made while considering what still needs to be done for the future. CESA will continue to advance energy storage safety in alignment with our Safety Commitment Statement: “CESA is committed to the safe deployment of all energy storage resources in California so that people, property and the environment are protected from harm. CESA supports the adoption of energy storage safety standards in California, consistent with industry and national standards, to prevent or mitigate hazards via proactive, collaborative stakeholder effort. CESA works to advance a culture that values safety, and CESA’s Mission Statement incorporates safety as a core value. We aim to ensure that our members are informed and have access to industry best practices for safely deploying energy storage technologies.  In addition, CESA encourages its members to share transferable lessons learned for the continual improvement of energy storage safety standards.”