Amendment #13 to H4599

Battery testing facility

Mr. Goldstein-Rose of Amherst moves to amend the bill by inserting after section 15 the following section –

“SECTION 15C. Chapter 75 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after section 47 the following new section:-

“Section 48. (a) An ‘Energy Storage System’ (1) shall be defined as a technology that is capable of absorbing energy, storing it for a period of time and thereafter dispatching the energy; provided, however, that an energy storage system shall (i) reduce the emission of greenhouse gases; (ii) reduce demand for peak electrical generation; (iii) defer or substitute for an investment in generation, transmission or distribution assets; or (iv) improve the reliable operation of the electrical transmission or distribution grid; and (2) provided further, shall (i) use mechanical, chemical or thermal processes to store energy that was generated for use at a later time; (ii) store thermal energy for direct heating or cooling use at a later time in a manner that avoids the need to use electricity at that later time; (iii) use mechanical, chemical or thermal processes to store energy generated from renewable resources for use at a later time; or (iv) use mechanical, chemical or thermal processes to capture or harness waste electricity and to store the waste electricity generated from mechanical processes for delivery at a later time.

(b) There shall be established a Commonwealth Energy Storage Testing Facility that shall serve as a resource for companies developing energy storage systems.

(c) The Commonwealth Energy Storage Testing Facility shall be located upon a campus within the University of Massachusetts, as defined by section 1 of chapter 75 of the General Laws.

(d) The purposes and responsibilities of the Commonwealth Energy Storage Testing Facility shall be to:

(1) Scout out promising energy storage technologies from patents and research papers published anywhere in the world and try out technologies or combinations of inventions at commercial scale to prove which might be commercially viable;

(2) Carry out research, development, and demonstration for new or modified technologies for energy storage systems that can be utilized by business, industry, and government;

(3) Provide research and development, testing, and product certification equipment for the creation of energy storage systems;

(4) Provide a clearinghouse for the dissemination of information and data on existing and new energy storage technologies for the commonwealth and other companies and governmental entities;

(5) Provide expertise and assistance to public officials responsible for establishing government policy and regulations overseeing energy storage systems in an effort to meet statewide energy storage deployment goals.

(e) The Commonwealth Energy Storage Testing Facility shall, subject to expressed interest by potential users, establish a testbed facility at the flagship University of Massachusetts campus, in partnership with the University of Massachusetts Clean Energy Extension, which shall be available for energy storage companies to demonstrate products in a real-world microgrid and gather data for certification and deployment.

(f) The Commonwealth Energy Storage Testing Facility shall be allowed to charge a fee for its services.”