>AEP and S&C, which was the vendor for the pilot, declined to speak specifically about the project and the shortcomings of the batteries, although the two will continue to work together on a much smaller scale.

Small scale is exactly where community energy storage is at. It’s not only the scale of the batteries that are small (compared to megawatt, grid-level storage), but also the scale of utility uptake. “We haven’t seen any mass deployment,” said Mike Edmonds, vice president of strategic solutions for S&C. “It’s a very young market.” Instead, utilities are dipping their toes in the water by testing just a few units.<