Minnesota To Consider Using Energy Storage For Peaker Plants
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gas peaker plants may be among the first casualties of a new Minnesota law requiring utilities to include energy storage as part of their long-range plans.
The provision, part of an omnibus jobs and energy bill, "puts energy storage on a level playing field with natural gas plants and other resources," said Ellen Anderson, executive director of the University of Minnesota's Energy Transition Lab. "Utilities will have to acknowledge the capabilities storage can provide as an alternative to, say, a fossil fuel plant."
The most likely victim could be peaker plants, which operate when utilities face high demand for short durations, such as hot summer days, she said.
(© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)