Battery Energy Storage Roadmap/CLEAN

CLEAN battery energy storage supports a decarbonized grid using equitable and responsible life cycle practices and stakeholder engagement, considering both environmental and human health impacts.

Aspects of the Future State

A future in which battery energy storage is CLEAN requires:

• Environmental and human health considerations that are reviewed during long-term energy resource planning.
• Decisions informed by systematic evaluations that quantify and compare the life cycle environmental and human health impacts of various battery energy storage technologies.
• Applied measurement, tracking, and valuation methods that include community benefits and equity during siting and permitting processes.
• Focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, critical mineral use, and waste that considers fair labor and environmentally responsible practices throughout the BESS technology supply chain.
• Technology and facility management strategies that are environmentally responsible, supported by a trained workforce in quality jobs, and demonstrated to be economically viable across various BESS technologies.

Current State and Gaps

The Current State of clean related to each project Life Cycle Phase gives context to the identified Gaps that EPRI and others can address to advance deployment of clean battery energy storage.

Life Cycle Phase	Current State	Gaps
Planning	Measurement and valuation of clean BESS benefits for communities lacks guidance and attention.	Ecological impacts on communities to support engagement strategies and resource development Determination of clean benefits, which considers the identification and quantification of BESS benefits to the environment and human health, to inform siting and planning decisions
Procurement	“Clean” has been historically overshadowed by the electric power sector’s requirements for safety, reliability, and affordability.	Clean resource planning frameworks informed by BESS life cycle assessments used in decision-making Equitable procurement processes that consider technology-specific environmental and human health benefits and challenges
Deployment & Integration	Characterizing the environmental and human health impacts of BESS operation is an active area of research, and therefore related system designs and deployment practices that mitigate adverse impacts are not well-established.	Characterization of clean energy storage considers technology-specific impacts of normal and abnormal system operation on the environment, human health, and community well-being to inform system design, deployment practices, and emergency preparedness Clean measurement technology solutions that are system integrated to enable measurement and tracking of clean benefits and impacts
Operations & Maintenance	BESS operations impact on the environment, human health, and community well-being have not yet been monitored nor guidance developed.	Common environmental reporting guidelines that include leading data collection practices for improving and supporting decarbonization strategies Community benefits plan evaluation guidelines for optimizing operation strategies
Decommissioning	Regulatory uncertainty and limited recycling options due to underdeveloped infrastructure and market fluctuations create unreliable estimates for EOL value.	EOL regulatory and industry development awareness to develop actionable and streamlined decommissioning strategies that are socially and environmentally just

EPRI's Role in CLEAN

EPRI is engaged in applied research and project activities for clean battery energy storage. The projects listed below are a representative sample from the breadth of EPRI’s activities related to this Future State Pillar. EPRI resources related to clean battery energy storage can be found on the EPRI resources page.

Environmental Health and Safety Aspects of Advanced Lithium and Non-Lithium Storage

This work conducts a literature review and detailed interviews to compile and compare the EH&S aspects associated with novel and developing energy storage technologies. The resulting scorecard is intended to be an ongoing work, updated as new developments and research results arise, that serves as an educational tool for considering benefits and challenges of a technology at the planning stage as well as providing guidance for vendor discussions and RFP elements during procurement.

Lessons Learned from Battery Energy Storage System Permitting

The evolution of siting and permitting considerations are reviewed with the objective of helping stakeholders deliver project benefits and overcome deployment barriers at local, regional, and national levels. It is based on interviews with project developers and reviews of publicly available information resources, including permitting dockets and prior reports.

Community Engagement, Perception and Benefits for Energy Storage Projects

Energy storage technologies, operations, and benefits to electricity systems and the public are not well-understood by many people. This can result in confusion and misinformation which can derail deployment and operations. This work will survey public knowledge and perceptions of energy storage technologies and their features to assist with developing educational tools for the public, new workers to the field, jurisdictional authorities and policy-makers. The insights will inform all project life cycle phases.