The Energy Storage for Social Equity (ES4SE) Initiative, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity Energy Storage Program, is a program by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories. ES4SE is designed to empower urban, rural, and tribal disadvantaged communities to consider energy storage technologies and applications as a viable path towards community prosperity, well-being, and resilience.

The primary goal is to support communities affected by unreliable and expensive energy systems. Through this program, eligible communities have access to direct non-financial technical assistance and potential support for new energy storage project development and deployment.

In support of the Office of Electricity Energy Storage program, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), hosted a roundtable to explore the relationship between energy equity and energy storage. The roundtable featured keynotes and conversations with people leading the charge in transitioning our energy system to a more equitable, affordable, accessible, and sustainable future.

Prof. Sanjoy Banerjee of City College of New York and City University of New York Energy Institute, Sandia National Laboratories, Urban Electric Power, Inc., Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the Department of Energy Office of Electricity, Energy Storage Research Program won the 2019 US Environmental Protection Agency Green Chemistry Challenge Award in the Academic category. The team was recognized for creating large-scale zinc-manganese oxide batteries that can be recharged thousands of times without the typical decrease in the length of the battery’s life-time. These batteries do not have some of the limitations of lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries, and they use materials that are abundant and common in existing supply chains. Sandians Tim Lambert, Mathew Lim, Igor Kolesnichenko, and Babu Chalamala, along with Prof. Igor Vasiliev from New Mexico State University were also involved in this research project.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, along with Dr. Imre Gyuk, Director of the Energy Storage Program at the Office of Electricity, Department of Energy, and members of the Sandia National Laboratories Energy Storage Systems team, were in Cordova, Alaska for the ribbon cutting of Cordova Electric Cooperative’s battery energy storage system. The goal for the Cordova Electric Cooperative is to be 90% renewable by 2025.

The Sterling Municipal Light Department is marking a major milestone related to the department’s two energy storage systems. In March, SMLD celebrated over $1 million in avoided costs to the light department. SMLD’s first energy storage system, a 2-megawatt, 3.9-megawatt-hour utility scale battery from NEC Energy Solutions, was the first of its kind in Massachusetts when it went online in December 2016.

Find out how the Office of Electricity helps ensure America’s energy delivery system is secure, resilient and reliable today and for future generations. See DOE Assistant Secretary Bruce J. Walker discuss the Office of Electricity’s OE’s mission, priorities, and activities.

The DOE Global Energy Storage Database is the go-to source for unbiased, accurate, and up-to-date information on energy-storage projects and policies. The database is publicly accessible and simple to use, providing an open-access resource for detailed energy-storage project and policy information, and allowing users to contribute data through a third-party vetting process.