U.S. Department of Energy Collaborates with ICC on 2016 Compliance Guide for Energy Storage Systems

U.S. Department of Energy Collaborates with ICC on 2016 Compliance Guide for Energy Storage Systems

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released the 2016 Compliance Guide for Energy Storage Systems free of charge, making it easy for manufacturers, installers and operators of energy storage systems to understand and comply with current codes, standards, and regulations.

In July of last year, DOE formed a task force that included the International Code Council (ICC) and other stakeholders to address potential compliance issues of these systems. The Compliance Guide is available for download by clicking here.

The task force included Sara Yerkes, ICC’s Senior Vice President for Government Relations, among other subject matter experts. Not surprisingly, several International Codes developed by the Code Council and enforced in jurisdictions across country, are referenced in the Compliance Guide, including the International Building, Fire, Mechanical and Residential Codes.

“The compliance guide is a timely document to clarify how new technologies can be implemented in the existing regulatory framework,” Yerkes said. “Building codes are essential to public safety and we are pleased to work with the Department of Energy to ensure that energy storage systems meet all of the relevant standards before and during their implementation.”

As distributed energy production grows and management of utility loads increases in importance, new technologies for batteries and energy storage are coming into focus, and part of the DOE’s response has been the Energy Storage Safety initiative. One of three key components of that initiative involves how codes, standards and regulations impact the timely deployment of safe energy storage systems.

The Compliance Guide working group was coordinated by a team from DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory, and the document was co-authored by former ICC employee David Conover.

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