Constraints on electric power system carbon emissions will make optimal increased reliance on variable renewable energy (VRE, mainly wind and solar generation), which has near zero marginal operating costs. Using capacity expansion modeling of electric power systems in three US regions in...

The final version of this paper will appear as Chapter 6 in the forthcoming MIT Energy Initiative study, The Future of Storage. Chapters referred to in this paper will be included in that study when it is published. In order to illuminate the role of energy storage in future decarbonized...