Earlier this month, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) issued a Request for Proposals for a consultant to conduct an energy storage market update and strategy study for mid- and long-duration energy storage in the Commonwealth. Responses to the RFP are due on January 18, 2023.

The RFP, issued pursuant to Section 80 of An Act Driving Climate Policy Forward, 2022 Mass. Acts 179 (“2022 Climate Act”), seeks to advance the deployment of energy storage in Massachusetts. The state previously identified energy storage as an area of strategic opportunity through its Energy Storage Initiative, which “aims to make the Commonwealth a national leader in the emerging energy storage market requiring a 1,000 Megawatt hour (MWh) energy storage target to be achieved by December 31, 2025.”

Massachusetts currently has more than 300 MWh of installed energy storage, primarily in the form of pumped hydropower storage or lithium-ion battery storage. Energy storage is defined in Massachusetts as “commercially available technology that is capable of absorbing energy, storing it for a period of time and thereafter dispatching the energy,” subject to several emissions-reduction and technology requirements. The 2022 Climate Act further defined mid-duration storage as energy storage able to discharge at rated power for between four and ten hours and long-duration storage as energy storage able to discharge at rated power for more than ten hours.

What’s required by the RFP?

The selected consultant will receive up to $500,000 to “provide an overview of the existing energy storage market in the Commonwealth, a market report focused on emerging mid- and long-duration storage technologies, and a study concerning the potential benefits of mid- and long-duration storage to Massachusetts ratepayers as the Commonwealth seeks to achieve its Clean Energy and Climate Plan targets through 2050.”

The RFP identifies the following four core task areas which the selected consultant will be required to complete:

• Energy Storage Inventory and Progress Report;
• Emerging Mid- and Long-Duration Storage Technologies Market Report;
• Report on Potential Applications of Mid- and Long-Duration Storage; and
• Memo Integrating Stakeholder Feedback, Overall Conclusions, and Recommendations.

According to the RFP, MassCEC and DOER will conduct interviews with top respondents during the week of February 6, 2023 and will notify the selected consultant during the week of February 27, 2023.