Our national electric grid is not always well-equipped to handle energy from renewable sources. Today's network, which delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers, is dependent on fossil fuels, with over 70% of electricity generation coming from coal or natural gas. The grid has limited ability to store excess energy, so electricity must constantly be generated to perfectly match demand. Though wind and solar power are promising clean alternatives to fossil fuels, their natural unpredictability and intermittency present major challenges to delivery of the consistent power that is necessary to operate today's grid. The energy storage facilities that exist today use pumped hydropower, which is only available in a handful of locations. New, more flexible, large-scale energy storage technologies would allow energy to be efficiently stored and sent to any location in the country. This ability to reliably store and utilize energy will enable the widespread use of renewable alternatives to fossil fuels. Cost-effective grid-scale energy storage is critical for increasing the use of renewable alternatives and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the electric energy sector.

If successful, the development of advanced energy storage technologies would store vast amounts of electric energy at low cost, which would enable widespread use of wind and solar energy to power the grid. Investing in these technologies will position the U.S. as the leader in the emerging global market for energy storage infrastructure.