Hypothetical deployment of storage assets across an electric power system. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Placing storage across electric power system
Electricity storage can be deployed throughout an electric power system - functioning as generation, transmission, distribution, or end-use assets - an advantage when it comes to providing local solutions to a variety of issues.
Sometimes placing the right storage technology at a key location can alleviate a supply shortage situation, relieve congestion, defer transmission additions or substation upgrades, or postpone the need for new capacity, says an article published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The article gives examples and illustrates the wide range of storage applications, though neither is intended to provide a comprehensive listing of storage technologies.
Some storage technologies are mature and fully commercial, such as pumped hydro and thermal storage. Others are still evolving in terms of technology and their economic and operational roles in the power grid, such as battery storage or flywheels.
The costs can be significant when it comes to energy storage, particularly with emerging technologies. On the other hand, electricity storage technologies offer www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm price arbitrage opportunities and fast-response services that conventional technologies cannot match.
The future application of storage technologies will depend on how rapidly the technologies improve and costs drop, the implementation of new pricing and valuation schemes for the services storage can provide, and the cost and efficiency of alternatives.
Related:
Speeding up smart grid recovery from faultsRenewables to get higher priority in smart grids
Renewable energy technologies gain advantage
New storage buffers fluctuating renewable power
New energy storage technologies gain momentum
MIT features cutting-edge energy innovations
OPTIONS AND HELP
Email to a friend
To email this article to a friend, click:
http://www.energy-enviro.fi/index.php?PAGE=58&ARTICLE_ID=3&ID=4287&emailSubscribe
To subscribe to our mailing list, visit:
http://www.energy-enviro.fi/index.php?PAGE=59&subscribeUnsubscribe
To unsubscribe mailing list, click:
http://www.energy-enviro.fi/index.php?PAGE=60&unsubscribe
