An Overview of Behind-The Meter Solar-Plus-Storage Regulatory Design: Approaches and Case Studies to Inform International Applications

This report is intended to offer key regulatory considerations for facilitating distributed solar photovoltaic (DPV)-plus-storage programs for retail customers. It provides relevant cases from U.S. states as examples of how novel regulatory issues related to behind-the-meter energy storage systems paired with DPV are being addressed in practice. Though the authors attempt to segment many of these issues into distinct topics to enhance understanding of them, in reality, DPV-plus-storage regulatory issues are all closely integrated, and design decisions on a single aspect often have broader implications. With that in mind, the authors outline a series of steps that can be employed by regulators to approach DPV-plus-storage regulatory design, including to develop and prioritize regulatory objectives, design compensation mechanisms, design metering and technical configuration requirements, design interconnection process, and consider local permitting issues. The report also provides seven key considerations for regulators.