A utility in oil- and gas-rich Oklahoma is on its way to owning its first battery storage projects following a recent order by state energy regulators.
On May 11, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission approved a $1.2 billion proposal by PSO, an AEP-owned utility, to buy three battery storage projects, more wind power, and build a gas plant in order to meet load growth from data centers and an aluminum smelting plant. Without the new generation and storage capacity, the utility forecasts a nearly 1.8-gigawatt summer shortfall by 2029. Commissioners, in a 2-1 vote, sided with the utility and clean energy advocates — and rejected an attempt by the state attorney general and the oil and gas lobby to block the storage.
The order comes as battery storage takes off in states like Arizona, California, and Texas, but lags behind in energy markets like SPP, of which Oklahoma is a member.
However, the market is starting to shift in the state, where an estimated 2.3 gigawatts of storage is under development. That’s 44% of the entire near-term pipeline in SPP, according to the analytics firm Modo Energy. The pipeline is dominated by private companies that build projects on their own dime; the OCC’s order approving a regulated utility’s recovery of storage costs from ratepayers marks a shift, and potentially opens a new pathway for development.
