Episode #14: ‘Hybrid Generation + Storage: Key Efficiency or Mere Tax Opportunity?’ with Will Gorman of LBNL - [an Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast]

The latest episode of the Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast sees Jason Price and Matt Chester joined by Will Gorman, a graduate student researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, to discuss a recently published paper that studied the motivations and installation trends of hybrid generation-plus-battery projects across the U.S. grid system. Battery prices have been steadily decreasing and new “hybrid” power plants have been taking advantage by adding on-site energy storage to new and existing wind and solar energy installations.

This trend is being seen across the country, so there’s no doubt that the popularity of such hybrid power plants is growing, but what Will and his cohorts at LBNL were eager to analyze was why these power plants were popping up more and more. Was this a case of technology becoming viable and solving a problem? Were the availability of investment tax credits (ITCs) artificially making these projects appealing? And will co-locating batteries and generating units continue to be seen as a potentially optimal and efficient solution? Listen to this engaging conversation with Will to learn the answers to some of these questions and more on this episode of the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast!

Key Links:

Will Gorman’s Energy Central Profile: https://energycentral.com/member/profile/238776

Motivations and options for deploying hybrid generator-plus-battery projects within the bulk power system: https://energycentral.com/c/gn/motivations-and-options-deploying-hybrid-generator-plus-battery-projects-within

As a reminder, the Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast be looking for the authors of the most insightful articles and the members with most impactful voices within the Energy Central community and we'll invite them to discuss further so we can dive even deeper into these compelling topics. Posting twice per month (on the second and fourth Tuesdays), we'll seek to connect with professionals in the utility industry who are engaging in creative or innovative work that will be of interest to their colleagues and peers across the Energy Central community. 

The Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast is hosted by Jason Price, Community Ambassador of Energy Central. Jason is a Business Development Executive at West Monroe, working in the East Coast Energy and Utilities Group. Jason is joined in the podcast booth by the producer of the podcast, Matt Chester, who is also the Community Manager of Energy Central and energy analyst/independent consultant in energy policy, markets, and technology.  

If you want to be a guest on a future episode of the Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast, let us know! We’ll be pulling guests from our community members who submit engaging content that gets our community talking, and perhaps that next guest will be you! Likewise, if you see an article submitted by a fellow Energy Central community member that you’d like to see broken down in more detail in a conversation, feel free to send us a note to nominate them.

Happy listening, and stay tuned for episode #15 in two weeks! Like what you hear, have a suggestion for future episodes, or a question for our guest? Leave a note in the comments below.

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Thanks to the sponsors of this episode of the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast: West Monroe, Esri, Guidehouse, and CPower.