Arlington, Va. — The United States is the epicenter of global AI research and development, and the hyperscale data centers powering our dominance are consuming vast amounts of electricity. NEMA’s newest standard helps meet this challenge by establishing clear performance expectations for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) to assist data center developers and other end users in making informed decisions about which BESS products to deploy to improve reliability and resilience and power economic development.

The BESS Testing and Performance Measurements Standard outlines consistent methods for assessing key performance specifications of BESS to allow for easier evaluation and selection of products and to empower users to choose which storage system will best meet their needs. Users of this standard include data center developers, manufacturers, consumers and businesses, utilities, policymakers, researchers, and analysts.

“An upcoming NEMA study projects that U.S. data center electricity demand will double, or potentially even triple, by 2030,” said Patrick Hughes, Senior Vice President, Technical Affairs, NEMA. “If the United States wants to lead the world in AI, we need tools like energy storage that will help create a reliable supply of electricity to power new data centers. NEMA’s BESS Testing and Performance Measurements Standard will provide standardized performance specifications for BESS to ensure optimal system performance, enhance reliability, and power the U.S. economy.”

You can read more about the standard here.