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Scott Murtishaw
Executive Director, California Energy Storage Alliance
Scott Murtishaw is the Executive Director of the California Energy Storage Alliance (CESA), a position he has held since August 2023.1 He is a recognized leader in the energy industry with extensive experience in both trade associations and regulatory bodies.2
Professional Background
Prior to joining CESA, Murtishaw held several key positions:
- Policy Director at the Independent Energy Producers Association (March 2021 - August 2023)1
- Senior Advisor at the California Solar & Storage Association (April 2018 - January 2021)1
- Energy Advisor to the President at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) (January 2015 - February 2018)1
Areas of Expertise
Murtishaw's areas of expertise include:
- Environmental markets
- Cap and trade
- Renewable energy
- Electricity and utility regulation
- Transportation electrification
- Distributed energy resources
- Electric rate design
- Direct access
- Community choice aggregation1
Education
- Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the University of California, Berkeley (1997-1999)1
- BA in International Relations from Stanford University (1988-1993)1
Role at CESA
As Executive Director, Murtishaw leads CESA in its mission to advance the role of energy storage in the electric power sector.2 He has been instrumental in advocating for the energy storage industry, which has seen significant growth in California. In April 2024, Murtishaw participated in a press conference with Governor Newsom to celebrate California surpassing 10,000 MW of installed battery energy storage capacity.3
Scott Murtishaw's leadership and extensive experience in the energy sector position him as a key figure in shaping the future of energy storage in California and beyond.
Highlights
The New York Times put out a great article today by Brad Plumer and Nadja Popovich on the growing role of energy storage in maintaining grid reliability. The article notes that battery energy storage capacity has increased 10x nationwide in just three years. In California, which has the most storage capacity, batteries are used primarily to shift the availability of solar energy to the peak. In other markets, like Texas, batteries are still mostly providing short-duration grid balancing services, but that will change as Texas as both more solar and storage capacity.
After explaining that California regulators hope to triple energy storage capacity by 2035, the article quotes Andrés Gluski, the CEO of California Energy Storage Alliance member The AES Corporation, saying "The future is bright for energy storage." This is undoubtedly true in California and across the US. The authors explain that although lithium-ion batteries are competitive for replacing gas peaker plants, longer-duration storage will be necessary to wean the grid from fossil fuels more deeply. While several CESA members are working on these next generation technologies, the article specifically mentions ESS, Inc. and Form Energy, two companies developing iron-based batteries. See the linked article for more info.
I was honored to join Gov. Newsom and other state and local clean energy leaders last Thursday to celebrate the deployment of 10,000 MW of energy storage -- an incredible milestone on California's path to a carbon-free grid. Installed energy storage capacity increased 13x since the start of 2020, with utility-scale storage increasing more than 20x. To highlight how much energy storage has surpassed even recent expectations, I found a presentation in our files from 2016 in which CESA was urging the CPUC to adopt a 5,000 MW storage target... by 2030.
CESA extends our thanks to the many energy policy leaders in California who have supported the energy storage industry. As I stated at the press conference, the stationary energy storage industry began in California. CESA spearheaded the two key decisions that kick-started the industry -- the passage of Assembly Bill 2514 (2010), which asked the CPUC to set a storage procurement target, and the incorporation of energy storage into the CPUC's Self-Generation Incentive Program in 2011.
We would also like to congratulate the manufacturers and developers who overcame many challenges to scale up the industry to the point where we are today. There is still a lot of work to be done, though. If your company is active in the energy storage market in the western US and you're not a CESA member, please contact me or email [email protected] to learn more about how your support of CESA helps keep the industry growing and how we can help you stay abreast of the policy developments that affect your business.
