Hitachi is introducing an energy storage unit that gives customers the ability to instantly store power and then sell it back to the grid later. The systems, known as CrysteEna, are a direct attempt to capitalize on the influx of renewable energy on the grid, which creates situations where the supply side (wind/solar power) is volatile. There will be times where too much electricity hits the grid and times when there’s a need for stored energy to be released.

What is interesting about the new product is that Hitachi noted that it thinks the customer for such a product isn’t limited to utilities but to anyone trying to sell power back to the grid. This is potentially highly disruptive since we’re already seeing utilities fighting distributed generation which cuts into revenue. But what if the utilities now have to contend with energy storage competitors. On the one hand it could save utilities money by allowing them to invest less in costly energy storage. On the other hand they would have to pay third parties for stored power. They’ve hated net metering though utilities might be more interested in paying for demand response or frequency regulation, something they’ve always done.