Participants of the CEC/DOE Energy Storage Initiative

California Energy Commission (CEC)
The California Energy Commission is the state's primary energy policy and planning agency. Created by the Legislature in 1974 and located in Sacramento, the Commission has five major responsibilities:

• Forecasting future energy needs and keeping historical energy data
• Licensing thermal power plants 50 megawatts or larger
• Promoting energy efficiency through appliance and building standards
• Developing energy technologies and supporting renewable energy
• Planning for and directing state response to energy emergency

With the signing of the Electric Industry Deregulation Law (Assembly Bill 1890), the Commission's role includes overseeing funding programs that support public interest energy research; advance energy science and technology through research, development and demonstration; and provide market support to existing, new and emerging renewable technologies.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Energy supply and demand plays an increasingly vital role in our national security and the economic output of our nation. It is not surprising that the United States spends over 500 billion dollars annually on energy.

Increasing Energy Supplies
As America's need for energy grows, the Department of Energy is meeting the challenge by developing clean fuel initiatives to make the most of traditional fossil fuels and investing in cutting edge research to identify new energy sources like hydrogen fuels and fusion technologies.

Modernizing Our Energy Infrastructure
By developing the infrastructure to support these fuels, DOE is striving every day to protect our nation's energy needs and our planet's environment.

Ensuring the Productive and Optimal Use of Energy Resources, While Limiting Environmental Impact
In addition, the Department of Energy is harnessing the power of the earth itself to meet our energy needs. Advances in wind, hydro and geothermal energy allow us to take advantage of clean, abundant energy.

Cooperating on International Energy Issues
The Department's activities are instrumental in establishing the safety, reliability, and efficiency of energy supplies in a global marketplace.

The Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), through the Energy and Infrastructure Assurance program, provide support for the monitoring portion of this project.

Distributed Utility Associates (DUA)
Distributed Utility Associates (DUA) provides analytic, technical, and policy consulting to utilities, technology developers and energy research organizations. Much of DUA's effort is centered on this "Distributed Utility (DU)" concept. DUA also specializes in evaluating prospects for and impacts from utility application of advanced energy technologies and resources: renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy storage.

EPRI
Methods of storing electrical energy are an important part of our technological infrastructure. Electricity storage devices are sometimes used as primary power sources, as in portable electronics such as cell phones and laptop computers. In other applications, they serve as important auxiliary systems, as in starting batteries for automobiles and batteries for uninterrupted power supply (UPS) applications. In the future, energy storage may play an even greater role in large-scale applications, such as energy arbitrage--the purchase and storage of energy produced during low-demand periods, and subsequent sale during high-demand periods.

EPRI is involved in research, evaluation, and application of electricity storage technologies for an array of uses: short-term applications such as power quality and power ride-through, as well as long-term applications such as peak-shaving and energy arbitrage. Our experienced team of energy-storage specialists has in-depth understanding of the theory and practice of electricity storage technologies and expertise in testing and evaluation, systems studies, and applications design and development.