Costello bill encourages energy storage investment to grow advanced energy economy

U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello (R-PA) on Dec. 14 introduced bipartisan legislation to incentivize utilities, homeowners and businesses to use innovative energy storage technologies, save money and grow the clean energy industry.

“When paired with recent advancements in clean and renewable energy choices, energy storage can strengthen the security of our electric grid, offer consumers greater choice and lower the cost of energy bills,” Rep. Costello said.

Specifically, the Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act of 2017, H.R. 4649, would establish a separate investment tax credit (ITC) and then provide ITCs when energy storage is installed in conjunction with a solar energy system.

At the same time, H.R. 4649 would “facilitate greater investment and research in energy storage technologies, bolster the advanced energy economy, and support clean energy jobs across Pennsylvania,” added Costello’s Democratic colleague Rep. Mike Doyle from Pennsylvania, who joined him in introducing the bill last week.

The Costello-Doyle bill essentially would extend the existing ITC to a wide scope of energy storage infrastructure applications, ranging from batteries intended for residential use to utility-scale energy storage.

This would include equipment that receives, stores and delivers energy using batteries, compressed air, pumped hydropower, hydrogen storage, thermal energy storage, regenerative fuel cells, flywheels, capacitors, superconducting magnets and other technologies having a capacity of 5 kilowatt hours or more.

Energy storage technologies are critical to the increased adoption of renewable energy. They oftentimes complement renewable resource reserves from wind and solar power and provide backup power, helping to lower electricity costs during peak demand, such as in a cold snap or heat wave.

At the same time, energy storage systems allow for more advanced grid technologies to be deployed and strengthen all modes of energy generation, in turn creating a more stable electric grid, Costello said.
“This legislation encourages the use of emerging energy storage technologies and incorporating them into the electric grid,” said Doyle.

Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) has signed on to cosponsor H.R. 4649, which has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.

The proposal is a companion bill to S. 1868, which was introduced on Sept. 26 by U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Dean Heller (R-NV). The Senate version has nine cosponsors and has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee.