California’s ambitious push toward 100% renewable energy by 2045 has hit a significant milestone, with nearly 60% of the state’s electricity now generated from solar, wind, and geothermal sources. However, this achievement is not without its challenges, particularly in maintaining power generation during non-peak sunlight hours, which is becoming increasingly expensive, polluting, and inefficient. The reliance on peaker plants, which burn coal or natural gas, to supplement solar energy as the sun sets, is exacerbating these issues. These plants are not only more costly to run but also more polluting, posing significant threats to economic stability and business growth.
The recent declaration of an energy emergency by President Trump, aimed at boosting fossil fuel production for electricity, may seem like a quick fix, but it comes with its own set of challenges. The increased production will take time and cost money, and even if domestic fossil fuel-based energy becomes more abundant, solar energy generation will remain cheaper during daylight hours. This means that millions will continue to face high power bills, especially those needing electricity in the late afternoons and evenings, and overtaxed grids.
Simply cutting power use during these hours is not feasible, as buildings still need to run climate control systems and charge a growing number of electric vehicles (EVs). The solution is not just more grid-level renewable energy or chemical batteries, as often suggested by lobbyists and legislators. Such an approach requires heavy investments into the grid, raising utility rates for decades and facing a long backlog in connecting new infrastructure to the power grid. Instead, regulators and policymakers should encourage on-site storage solutions that customers, especially commercial buildings and facilities, can install now on their own. Known as “behind the meter” distributed energy resources, these storage mechanisms are charged when clean grid electricity is cheap and plentiful, then discharged when the sun is not shining, thereby replacing expensive and dirty utility electricity during those hours. This is an immediate, accessible, and effective cure for overburdened grids, and the only way to take full advantage of current renewable energy capabilities. Meanwhile, behind-the-meter storage solutions do not require any connection with the grid, making them more immediately available and economical. Such solutions, often based on thermal storage—with power generated during the day stored locally in bricks, molten salts, or even ice—could help break this price/shortage pattern. This is especially true if such solutions were adopted by office buildings, hotels, hospitals, malls, government and institutional buildings, and other large consumers of electricity. Data shows that in the U.S., commercial buildings are responsible for 75% of electricity use and 35% of all carbon emissions. With nearly half of buildings’ electricity used for heating and cooling, implementing a thermal storage solution just for heating and cooling, especially air conditioning, could significantly bring down power bills for buildings. Buildings can charge these systems from their regular utility-provided electricity during the hours when the power is cheaper, mainly daylight hours when solar energy is plentiful (or generated on-site) and can adequately power utilities, then release this during the more expensive hours, including those after the sun sets. Electricity during daylight hours when the systems are charged is also cleaner, helping buildings and businesses cut their carbon footprint, meet growing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) requirements, and strengthen their commitment to sustainability.
Thermal behind-the-meter storage is also a more viable option than batteries, especially for large buildings. When it comes to commercial buildings, batteries are costly in terms of insurance, have limited cycles, and can be dangerous—the bigger the battery, the greater the risks. Along with that, installation of these batteries has become increasingly problematic due to new state regulations regarding who is qualified to do these installations. Behind-the-meter (BTM) thermal storage systems can easily be added to most buildings, and are available on a turnkey and remote-management basis, such as via virtual power plants. These solutions can enable building owners and managers to net significant savings on their power expenditures with little extra effort on their part. This is especially true as California’s peak power costs are expected to rise some 50% through 2044, while off-peak prices are set to fall by that same percentage. And as more buildings join this effort, carbon emissions and the risk of blackouts will go down for everyone. Reducing the risk of blackouts is a key economic issue; businesses and consumers need a resilient grid to grow and thrive, especially as electrification efforts increase, including EV use and the replacement of natural gas and other fossil fuels in homes across the state. This really should be a priority issue for regulators, who should be encouraging utilities to deploy these behind-the-meter solutions via dedicated programs that leverage these assets’ capabilities to participate in grid balancing on a daily basis. These types of “shift” programs would be able to encourage
