BEST in Show: With the help of the Future Caucus, the Better Energy Storage Technology Act moves the energy sector into the 21st century

H.R. 2986, the Better Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Act, was introduced in the House of Representatives on May 23, 2019. The bill, which is still active and was ordered to be reported out of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on February 12, 2020, is authored by Congressman Foster (D-IL-11) and is co-sponsored by Congressional Future Caucus members Rep. Barragan (D-CA-44),  Rep. Gallagher (R-WI-8) Rep. Gonzalez (R-OH-16), Rep. Herrera Beutler (R-WA-3), Rep. Kennedy (D-MA-4), Rep. McAdams (D-UT-4), Rep. Stefanik (R-NY-21), and Rep. Steil (R-WI-1). The companion bill in the Senate, S. 1602, also has strong bipartisan support among its 21 cosponsors.

The BEST Act mandates that the Secretary of Energy establish within the Office of Electricity in the Department of Energy a program for research, development, and demonstration of grid-scale energy storage systems. A strategic plan must be created for this program and be submitted to Congress and the Senate. The program will be focused on the development of energy storage programs that have a long lifetime, are capable of flexible power output, and can store energy over several months to address supply and demand variations and spikes. The legislation also requires that the Secretary of Energy be prepared to demonstrate up to five grid-scale energy storage system projects by September 30, 2023, intended to further develop and understand the storage systems. 

Developing and implementing large-scale energy storage systems is an essential step in modernizing our nation’s power grids and preparing for the rapidly growing diversification of energy production. Renewable energy sources, particularly at this still early stage, often do not have the same regularity that more traditional carbon power sources do. Nevertheless, efficient and large scale energy storage would circumvent this issue and allow suppliers to stockpile excess energy in times of higher supply or lower demand, and tap these sources when needed. Energy storage also provides a critical extra layer of resilience to the country’s power supply by establishing a readily available source of energy for times of disruption or interference.   

Congressman Foster stated in a press release that, “energy storage is one of the great frontiers in new technology that could transform our nation’s energy sector as we move to more environmentally sustainable energy models,” emphasizing the importance of the legislation and the urgency with which it should be considered. Congresswoman Herrera Beutler reiterated Rep. Foster’s statements, declaring that the bill will “bring energy storage technology into the 21st century”. The broad bipartisan support for the bill underscores how legislators are approaching critical issues of grid modernization and future-oriented energy policies from a post-partisan perspective without compromising deology.