Battery Energy Storage Roadmap/AFFORDABLE

AFFORDABLE battery energy storage encompasses economically viable technologies and deployment practices represented in planning models and proven to provide value to grid operators and customers.

Aspects of the Future State

A future in which battery energy storage is AFFORDABLE requires:

• Value propositions, costs, and benefits of various BESS technologies are understood, accurately represented in planning models, and effectively communicated to industry and community stakeholders.
• Consideration of equity and environmental justice in technoeconomic analyses based on BESS demonstration learnings that include community engagement activities and their costs and benefits.
• Advanced and reliable monitoring and control system technologies that maximize BESS asset value.
• Established, well-informed, and transparent regulatory and market structures that encourage BESS deployment and drive monetization of multiple value propositions.
• A trained workforce to accelerate the economic viability of battery energy storage by advancing innovative and cost-effective technology solutions and streamlining common procurement and deployment practices.

Current State and Gaps

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

Life Cycle Phase	Current State	Gaps
Planning	Properly estimating costs and benefits of multi-use energy storage is difficult given locational dependencies, unknown assumptions, forecasting challenges, interconnection uncertainties, and market and regulatory reforms.	Common definitions and valuation of qualitative benefits used in project planning and analysis Data-informed planning models that economically optimize single- and multi-use operation implement common, realistic, and well-communicated constraints Common analysis frameworks with an established set of assumptions and cost bases that enable more accurate and relevant comparisons Interconnection processes streamlined to mitigate timelines and related costs
Procurement	Energy storage project costs vary widely due to differences in locational impacts, labor rates, ambient conditions, jurisdictional requirements, timing, and market forces.	Specified project assumptions and locations for consistent and more accurate cost estimates Life cycle assessments of commercial and emerging technologies to leverage environmental considerations in project cost justifications
Deployment & Integration	Project capital expenditures include contingency for cost uncertainties that could arise during engineering design and construction.	Integration strategies that include technology-specific guidance to accelerate deployment timelines and reduce contingency and balance of plant costs Case-specific costs understood early in the planning process
Operations & Maintenance	BESS operation and maintenance cost information is inadequate for fleet management.	Monetization strategies for emerging technologies and novel use cases informed and documented by field testing and demonstrations Augmentation strategies optimized with operational system data analysis Trained operations and maintenance workforce to reduce system downtime, improve availability, and minimize associated costs
Decommissioning	BESS asset value and liability at EOL is recognized but not well understood or documented.	EOL costs and residual asset values applied to technoeconomic analyses during project planning

EPRI's Role in AFFORDABILITY

EPRI is engaged in applied research and project activities for BESS affordability. 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 BESS affordability can be found on the EPRI resources page.

Solar PV + Energy Storage Technoeconomic Analysis (free to the public)

The current Phase II of this project investigates the optimization and tradeoffs of different solar PV + energy storage configurations to support resource planning. The study analyzes the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), capacity value, capital costs, and performance of several energy storage technologies paired with a solar photovoltaic (PV) plant.

Utility Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Handbook

This handbook is a practical reference guide for a utility-connected BESS. It supports project cost reductions, risk minimization, schedule adherence, and revenue optimization. The handbook outlines the many facets of the complete project life cycle that need to be recognized for effective implementation of a utility-connected BESS, including the people and practices necessary for successful, safe, and reliable deployments.

EPRI’s Distributed Energy Resource Value Estimation Tool (free to the public)

DER-VET™ provides a free, publicly accessible, open-source platform for calculating, understanding, and optimizing the value of energy storage and other distributed energy resources (DER) based on their technical merits and constraints. DER-VET uses load and other data to determine optimal system characteristics for maximizing benefits based on site-specific conditions and the value that can be extracted from targeted use cases. Industry stakeholders can apply this tool to inform project-level decisions based on sound technical understanding and unbiased cost-performance data.