western Energy Storage Taskforce (WEST)
Shaping and Scaling Western Storage Markets
What is WEST?
CESA’s Western Energy Storage Taskforce (WEST) is committed to ensuring energy storage in all its forms is properly represented in planning and procurement venues across Western markets. CESA’s Subject Matter Experts that have helped to mature California’s energy market intend to achieve this same success for western states through compelling, evidence-based, technology-neutral advocacy.
WEST is:
A new service offering exclusive to CESA Members
Results-driven, action-oriented advocacy aligned with member input
The push to create tipping points in new markets
Being A Part of WEST Means
Monthly working group meetings with planning and procurement action updates.
Ability to provide comments and feedback on how to ensure energy storage in all its forms is properly represented.
Opportunities to talk to and hear from key decision makers across emerging Western markets.
Western Energy Storage Markets are Rapidly Expanding
Don’t miss out on energy storage opportunities beyond the Golden State.
For more than a decade, CESA has advocated to make energy storage a mainstream grid resource in California. With thousands of MW in energy storage procurement on the horizon, CESA is expanding its focus to support market development efforts in nearby Western states.
As the Western grid becomes increasingly interconnected, the establishment of the Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM) has:
Generated gross economic benefits to participants totaling more than $2 billion,
Enhanced regional efficiency of energy dispatch,
Supported the reduction of carbon emissions, and
Given system operators valuable, real-time visibility across the western grid.
The outcome of this augmented real-time market has prompted California Independent System Operator (CAISO) to consider expanding its day-ahead market, which would enable energy storage to serve regional needs beyond California. In this context, CESA seeks to leverage its expertise for emerging Western markets.
Image Source: California ISO
WEST Coverage
New technologies, aging infrastructure, strengthened environmental regulation, and increased energy efficiency adoption are all contributing to a rapidly changing energy landscape. Focusing on utilities with active integrated resource plans (IRPs), WEST will cover and track emerging storage markets in these states:
(click each state to learn more)
““The WEST program at CESA has been an important asset to our expansion beyond California and into the WECC region. The program brings the same professionalism, rigor, and thoroughness to covering WECC, which was solely needed and is now being met with WEST. Western markets for storage are tracking in the same direction that California was 5-7 years ago, and having WEST distill IRPs and influence policies in the region is something that I hope only continues to evolve.””