Buildings as Batteries: The Rise of ‘Virtual Storage’

Efforts to reshape demand to curb peak load are prompting public and private investment in electricity storage technologies such as battery banks, compressed air systems and ultracapacitors. But investments in this kind of ‘hard storage’ are relatively expensive and in many cases misplaced. An embrace of what the authors call ‘virtual storage’ would accelerate the transition to a healthier, more resilient, economical and secure electricity grid.