Oregon Solar + Storage Conference 2025

Battery energy storage systems are key to the energy transition as well as much needed reliable resiliency needs. The PV industry is fairly mature but the energy storage industry is growing rapidly, with storage technologies, codes, and standards evolving. Storage related fire events raise significant and justified concerns within communities. It is important to understand the state of today's ESS technologies, current and expected updates to codes and standards, testing and requirements...all of which have safety implications. This is key to be able to make informed decisions about your development and guidance for your community customers as well as your jurisdiction and fire stakeholders. Join subject matter experts from engineering and education firm, Mayfield Renewables who will provide clarity on the real vs perceived risks of battery energy storage systems and provide insight on current and upcoming updates to related codes and standards.

This session will discuss recent utility proposals for non-firm energy, the historical practice of utility curtailments, customer responses, and possible solutions. It will also address the legal issues, benefits, and challenges of providing and utilizing this interruptible energy service.   

Electric utility load projections have skyrocketed over the last few years. Traditional “duty to serve” utilities are desperate to find creative ways to meet this new demand while still complying with their renewable resource mandates and greenhouse gas limits. Fueled by mounting requests to power new data centers and clean tech manufacturing and restrained by transmission limits, climate initiatives, the intermittency of solar and wind generation, and a load curve that peaks just as the sun goes down, utilities are looking to revive and repackaging the practice of offering non-firm, interruptible, service for new large loads. Something that was more compatible with aluminum factories and paper mills that could shut down production lines or ramp up cogeneration, non-firm service allows a utility to curtail large customers during peak demand to balance the grid. Unlike these industries of old, however, this new large demand cannot just shut down, and running traditional diesel backup generation would violate climate-driven requirements.  A possible solution is battery storage, charged during off-peak hours, and used to bridge the gap during utility curtailments.