energy storage

Many of the benefits of storage are national in scope and do not, and never will, enter into the cost/benefit analysis that utilities and state regulators make in deciding on energy storage investments. The energy security benefits of storage are, however, very real. Federal energy policy must find a way to recognize those benefits and to share them with the utilities and local ratepayers that are being asked to invest in energy storage systems. If the energy security benefits of storage could be recognized and shared, the $700-750 per kilowatt hour value attributed to storage by EPRI could turn out to be much higher, and the 14 gigawatt market much closer, than assumed.[read more]

If all a CES does is incentivize the construction of new, clean generation assets and the deployment of additional transmission and distribution infrastructure, it will fail in its essential purpose. Simply building new plants while keeping old polluting ones open creates more environmental degradation rather than reduces it. An effective CES must be part of a broader scheme to retire older generation plants and reduce the amount of infrastructure necessary to generate and transmit the electricity needed by consumers. In short, a CES must be coupled with an energy efficiency standard.[read more]

There’s been an intriguing, and possibly even useful, advancement in batteries thanks to researchers at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign: Of all the criticisms of electric vehicles, probably the most commonly-heard is that their batteries take too long to recharge – after all, limited range wouldn’t be such a big deal if the...[read more]

The 2010 POWER-GEN International conference has warmed up Florida as temperatures are back to normal. Well almost...There were participants still with sweaters and coats listening to speakers talk about energy. Most of the conversations have been about traditional fuels as opposed to newer renewable technologies. This probably had more...[read more]

New innovations in energy storage, transmission, and the integration of variable electricity sources are necessary to enable renewable energy sources to contribute significantly to the U.S. energy supply, according to a new report from the American Physical Society.Establishing national policies to spur the deployment and adoption of...[read more]

It isn’t strictly solar, or at least not the solar we’ve gotten used to (solar PV or thermal), but researchers at MIT have discovered a new way to store the sun’s heat and release it on demand. Its name? The thermo-chemical approach.   Experiments show that the process could produce temperatures up to 200 degrees, which according...[read more]

The high cost of advanced batteries is the elephant in the PEV room. Focusing solely on battery research and manufacturing capacity isn’t a strategy; it is just hope. A sound strategy must focus on promoting secondary commercial markets for advanced automotive batteries.[read more]

photo: Todd Woody I wrote this story for Grist, where it first appeared. While efforts to pass federal climate change legislation have stalled and a fight rages in California to overturn its global warming law at the ballot box, Golden State regulators have been licensing massive desert solar power plant projects at a breakneck pace in...[read more]

In Wednesday’s New York Times, I wrote about two experimental projects in California to store solar energy produced by photovoltaic rooftop arrays: In the garage of Peter Rive’s San Francisco home is a battery pack. It is not connected to Mr. Rive’s electric Tesla Roadster sports car, but to the power grid. The California Public...[read more]

Since it’s been all-too-quiet on the EEStor front, I figured I’d at least draw attention to the company’s latest patent approval — this one titled “Systems and Methods for Utility Grid Power Averaging, Long Term Uninterruptible Power Supply…” A link to the patent, which was just approved a few days ago by the U.S. patent office, can be...[read more]

NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) recently awarded Ultralife Corporation about $2.4 million for design, development, prototyping, scale-up and installation of a 1 megawatt-hour advanced energy storage system. Ultralife will install the system on their Newark, New York corporate campus. This blog has...[read more]

The New York Independent System Operator has release a report, “Energy Storage in the New York Electricity Markets” (March 2010). The report offers an overview of existing grid-connected energy storage in New York, recent developments, and potential for further changes in the next several years. It is a good basic discussion of energy...[read more]

In the most recent Energy Journal, Ramteem Sioshonsi has an article examining the welfare effects of the incentives to use energy storage in electric power systems. (“Welfare Impacts of Electricity Storage and the Implications of Ownership Structure,” See volume 31:2 here.) He considers the incentives faced by consumers, generators,...[read more]

Sandia National Lab has just published a study of energy storage applications for the electric grid: “Energy Storage for the Electricity Grid: Benefits and Market Potential Assessment Guide.” John Petersen at Alt Energy Stocks said: I’ve been following the work in progress on this report since last summer and have eagerly awaited the...[read more]

Looks like shapeable ultracapacitors have caught the attention of at least one car maker. Volvo is looking to build energy storage into the bodies of its cars. In particular, the company is working with researchers at Imperial College London on carbon-fiber panels that are both structural and ultracapacitors. From a New York Times...[read more]