Large-scale battery storage in the U.S., which is essential to increasing renewable energy use, grew by 35% in 2020 and tripled over the last five years, according to a new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Much of that additional capacity is being built in the West, including: 

• The recent completion of the second phase of the Vistra Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility, the largest battery storage system in the world, means that California now accounts for 506MW (31%) of the country’s total battery storage. 
• Several western states are on the road to catch up, with utilities reporting plans to install over 10,000 MW of additional large-scale battery power capacity from 2021 to 2023—10 times the capacity in 2019. Those efforts include plans from renewable energy developers Avangrid Renewables and Primergy Solar to develop a 600MW portfolio of solar-plus-storage projects in Nevada. Plus Power in Hawaii has broken ground on the Kapolei Energy Storage facility that will offer 565MW of battery energy storage. That will make the lithium-ion project the largest stand-alone battery storage system in the state when it’s completed next year.
• In July, the U.S. Department of Energy unveiled plans for 3.5MW of battery storage in 13 American Indian and Alaska Native communities that will serve over 1,300 tribal buildings.

As battery prices fall and renewable energy generation continues to expand, small-scale battery storage (1MW or less) also has expanded in recent years due to an influx of hybrid-power plants in the West that combine renewable energy generation with attached storage capacity.  

Several western states are also incentivizing homeowners to install small-scale battery storage in their homes. Customers with Tucson Electric Power in Arizona will soon be able to apply for upfront cash incentives to install battery storage systems at their homes. Even more will be able to buy into community solar installations. A similar program is being offered to Hawaiian Electric customers. “This is allowing homeowners to get a piece of that action so to speak,” Eric Carlson, the Chief Innovation Officer for RevoluSun, a Hawaiian-based residential photovoltaic installer, said.

To make it even easier for homeowners to adopt this technology, The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology is developing solid-state lithium-ion batteries that are more efficient and environmentally safe. 

WESTERN PARALYMPIANS: The 2021 Paralympics in Tokyo began on August 24 with the western U.S. well represented on Team USA. While there are dozens of inspirational stories to follow, here are just a couple to pique your interest. Rudy Garcia-Tolson, a para swimmer from Colorado Springs, was born with multiple birth defects. By the time he was 5 he had endured 15 surgeries and ultimately told his parents he'd rather have a double leg amputation than continue with the surgeries. Just 12 years later he swam to his first gold medal at the 2004 Athens Paralympic Games and has medaled in each Paralympics since. In 2009, he also became the world's first double above-knee amputee to complete an Ironman triathlon. Cassie Mitchell, who will represent Oklahoma in the club and discus throw events, had dreams of making the Olympics when she earned a collegiate track scholarship. However, soon after her high school graduation, she developed a neurological condition that left her with permanent double vision and completely paralyzed her from the chest down. Nevertheless, Tokyo will be participating in her third Paralympics. She also works as a research engineer at Georgia Tech’s biomedical engineering department and as the National Institute of Health’s primary investigator in neurological injuries and diseases. 

SALMON SUPERHIGHWAY: In hopes of helping Washington and Idaho’s salmon population in the Lower Snake River, Whooshh Innovations created a new way to transport fish around dams and other obstructions blocking rivers. The Passage Portal system takes in cooler water from deeper in the water column to lure fish into a flexible tube that is misted with water, and pressurized to reduce stress and make the fish feel like they’re still in the river. Once a fish enters, the portal takes pictures that allow fisheries managers to identify the fish, which helps help keep out non-native species and identify whether a fish is injured, or if it’s a hatchery or wild fish.  

THE NOSE KNOWS: One of the hardest aspects of studying and protecting threatened species is finding them. Rouge Detection Teams and Conservation Canines based out of Washington, however, have devised a rather elegant solution: abandoned, fetch-obsessed rescue dogs. Pared with a human, the dogs are taught to essentially fetch different smells and track everything from toxic chemicals and viruses to rare species of plants and animals that scientists are hoping to study. “That fetch obsession really is our method of communicating with them,” said Heath Smith, one of the Rouge Detection Teams’ bounders.

RECORD HOT AIR: The Guinness Book of World Records recently certified the 524 balloons that took off on Oct. 6, 2019 from the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico as the “greatest mass hot air balloon ascent,” bringing the world record back to its original home after a town in France briefly held it. “Balloon Fiesta in October and hot air balloons in our Albuquerque skies year-round is now part of the visual and cultural landscape of our city,” said Shelle Sanchez, the director of Albuquerque’s Department of Arts and Culture. “It seems natural and obvious that the Balloon Fiesta, and by extension our city, should hold this exciting record of balloons in the sky.”

Get the latest news about the West and its governors by following the Western Governors' Association on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Check out our podcast, Out West, on Podbean, Spotify and Apple Podcasts