Energy storage helps ensure the reliable delivery of renewable resources (such as wind and solar) by storing excess energy when those sources produce less than needed, then delivering it during peak demand periods.
Battery storage systems can facilitate the efficient delivery of inflexible baseload resources. For instance, battery storage systems can inject electricity as needed to precisely match load – wherever and whenever it’s needed.
Renewable Energy
Energy storage is the ability to use a stored source of energy (renewable or non-renewable) to power an object. This can be accomplished through mechanical gravity, compressed air or thermal energy sources.
Renewable energy sources like solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal and ocean currents have long been around but recently gained recognition due to their environmental advantages. Not only can these renewable sources reduce your energy bill but they provide access to energy in remote regions – an especially crucial issue in developing countries – by reducing your reliance on fossil fuels.
However, these renewable resources can be affected by seasonal weather changes and sometimes fail to generate enough electricity when needed – leading to grid instability.
To circumvent this problem, engineers have devised systems that can store energy for extended periods and release it when needed – this practice is known as energy grid management.
One of the most promising energy storage technologies is battery storage. These batteries store electricity generated from renewable resources like solar and wind for up to four hours – approximately how long it takes for solar and wind to produce energy.
Pumped hydropower is another energy-storage technology. This uses water to store electricity and then release it when needed.
The United States currently has several storage projects under construction or operational. These facilities serve to stabilize and increase the supply of clean, renewable energy.
According to the Department of Energy, there are nearly 700 projects across America that use various forms of energy storage systems like pumped hydropower, electric grids, electrochemical and ice.
As more people transition to renewable energy sources, the need for long-duration energy storage is growing. A recent study suggests that timely development of an extensive energy-storage market could make a major contribution towards decarbonization efforts within the economy.
This study emphasizes the significance of storage for decarbonizing grids in emerging market and developing economy (EMDE) countries, particularly those without access to low-cost gas or who rely on coal generation. These nations must find ways to store more renewable energy, helping them reduce carbon emissions while combatting climate change.
Community Resiliency
Community resilience refers to a community’s capacity for overcoming hardship, recovering and rebuilding after an event. It encompasses social, environmental and technological elements that promote connections, ties and relationships within a given area as well as infrastructure capable of withstanding disasters and facilitating recovery processes.
Many communities are investing in resilience-building initiatives, particularly after a recent wave of natural disasters wreaked havoc on the United States. These efforts range from creating household emergency kits to creating public awareness campaigns and websites. Despite these efforts, the world’s collective response capacity and resources remain severely stretched.
The NIST Community Resilience Program, part of their overall work on disaster resilience, supports these efforts by offering adaptable resources for local communities to use in planning and guidance. The NIST team offers research, advice, and stakeholder engagement tailored to the specific needs of each community.
NIST researchers and others have identified several elements essential for community resilience, though these may not be well-defined or fully understood. The community knowledge base was found to be particularly beneficial in helping communities understand their risks and vulnerabilities. Furthermore, training and education have been identified as another element of resilience which could aid communities in building their capabilities.
These findings indicate that community resilience should be further explored and assessed in order to strengthen communities around the world. Particularly, having a sound knowledge base as well as effective training and education strategies are two critical elements that can enhance a community’s capacity for resilience.
Furthermore, communities can benefit from more resilient energy systems like battery storage and microgrids that enable them to remain functional during an energy crisis. These solutions allow residents to operate their electric grid-dependent appliances as if it were part of a self-supporting microgrid, while also storing their own energy for future use.
Electricity Pricing
Electricity pricing is an integral element of energy costs. The amount charged for electricity fluctuates minute by minute due to factors like electricity demand, fuel costs, power plant availability and more; they’re further affected by state regulations which dictate how much customers pay from generators and transmission/distribution facilities.
Utilities typically maintain control over their electricity pricing programs. They are usually designed to discourage customers from contributing to peak load times by charging more money for power during these hours. However, consumers in both regulated and deregulated markets have the power to make changes that reduce their bill costs.
Residential and commercial customers typically pay a price per kWh of electricity consumed. Rates differ by state, depending on your location, usage pattern, and other factors. Your bill may also include components like wholesale market energy costs or reliability fees.
Retail electricity prices tend to be higher than wholesale rates, as distributing electricity in a retail market can be costlier. Depending on your state, these costs may include both unregulated wholesale market costs and regulated fees for your supplier’s services to provide you with energy.
Due to the global economy and population’s continued expansion, electricity prices are predicted to increase in the future. To meet this growing need for grid flexibility and support renewables, more efficient and affordable energy storage technologies must be developed.
Over the past five years, several factors have driven down the cost of energy-storage systems, particularly battery packs. These advancements include advances in manufacturing techniques and efficiency gains across supply chains; plus there has been a decline in “soft” costs like customer acquisition, permitting fees, and interconnection charges.
Another factor responsible for the reduction of energy-storage system costs is competition. Over the last five years, many manufacturers have reduced prices and simplified their operations.
Energy storage technologies continue to become more cost-effective, leading more and more companies to invest in these innovative solutions. For instance, in February of this year a utility in Massachusetts announced an investment of $100 million into battery-based storage to reduce the cost of distributed solar PV installations by up to 20 percent. The batteries will help balance power distribution during times of high demand and enable more flexible use of renewable energies.
Environmental Benefits
Energy storage, whether it’s a battery at your home or grid-scale batteries and thermal storage, helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by allowing the electricity supply mix to transition more easily towards low-carbon renewable resources. Unlike peaker plants that only operate during high demand times, storage helps smooth out fluctuations in wind or solar availability so electricity systems can decarbonize more cost effectively as they transition away from fossil fuel-based generation towards cleaner sources.
Energy storage offers several environmental advantages, such as improved grid efficiency and reliability and the absence of pollution-emitting peaker plants. These facilities only operate during times of high demand – such as during a heat wave – which increases air pollution levels and further exacerbates already detrimental public health effects in densely populated and economically distressed areas.
Energy storage can reduce emissions, but it also has the potential to increase them if stored energy is used when it’s cheap (e.g., at night) and displaced when more expensive (e.g., during the day). Hittinger and Azevedo model how this energy arbitrage could influence carbon emissions in the United States depending on the combined effect of energy mix and pricing across different states.
California, for example, had a minimum-dispatchability requirement and $200 per ton CO2-emissions tax in 2012 that combined to reduce emissions by 72% without energy storage. But using energy storage to mitigate renewable curtailment could further decarbonize the power system, cutting emissions by 54%.
Energy storage offers an important environmental advantage, but it must be noted that energy storage won’t fully decarbonize the electricity system until renewable penetration and prices increase. To achieve this goal, wind and solar must reach 18% of total system capacity.
Thankfully, states are taking action to make clean energy more affordable and reliable through various measures such as increasing renewable deployment and incorporating emissions into energy procurement policies. Furthermore, several governments are exploring ways to compensate distributed energy resource owners and operators for their contributions to the clean energy transition through new programs or incentives.