Upgrading and deferring existing wires and substations may be the most common application of battery storage utilized for transmission and distribution. However, batteries also provide a range of solutions designed to maximize the lifetime of T&D infrastructure. Also referred to as T&D asset optimization, these energy storage systems (ESSs) are designed to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of existing T&D assets to provide electricity in a given service territory. Ensuring that these systems are reliable is critical to the effective operation of electricity throughout a given service territory.

Navigant Research anticipates that a cumulative 35.5 GW of new energy storage will be built for critical infrastructure through 2027. Approximately 25% of this storage capacity is expected to directly address T&D issues. Mission critical installations require systems that deliver continuous electrical service with high power quality to the grid. Such installations also require facilities like large data centers, telecom operations, financial services centers, hospitals and complex manufacturing operations. This market segment is growing and can be addressed by a variety of system design topologies that can deliver high-fidelity electricity.

There exist a variety of specific drivers that have led utilities around the world to deploy ESSs to improve operations in T&D infrastructure. Local grid conditions and utility preference have a significant impact on the likelihood that storage systems will be developed to defer T&D upgrades. Specifically, there are three key issues that ESS help mitigate in this market.

A push to establish an Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for energy storage has not only been welcomed by clean energy advocates and the industry, but might also meet the some stated aims of the Trump administration’s energy policies, an analyst has said.

Michael Doyle, a Democrat, has proposed in the US House of Representatives the bill HR2096, an amendment to the tax code to issue credits “for energy storage technologies and other purposes”. At present, the ITC is applicable to purchases of solar PV equipment and energy storage, but only if bought and installed at the same time as the solar.

The solar tax credit is equivalent to 30% of the cost of solar equipment purchases and offers customers a rebate via their income tax bill. It was due for expiry by 2017 but was unexpectedly extended and is now being phased out between now and 2022.

It’s only the latest in a series of efforts by some US policymakers to introduce an ITC specific to energy storage. In November last year, a group of renewable energy and environmental organisations urged US Congress to “clarify” the eligibility of energy storage for the tax break, after New Mexico Senator Martin Heinreich proposed a bill in 2016, S.1868, which would amend revenue codes to apply either the ITC, similar tax relief measures or include energy stored in batteries, flywheels and pumped hydro in ‘Energy Credits’ policies. Unsurprisingly, Energy-Storage.news has already received comments from several energy storage companies welcoming the possible extension of the ITC to include their technologies.

Alex Eller, senior analyst with Navigant Research, told Energy-Storage.news that he hoped Rep Doyle’s bill might have a better chance of going through into law than some previous efforts, which appear to have “kind of stalled,” Eller said.

The global energy storage market is poised to expand 13-fold by 2024, according to the latest analysis from energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables, which predicts the sector is well positioned to build on recent rapid growth.

The period 2013 to 2018 saw significant market growth, reflected in a global GWh compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 74 per cent, according to the Global energy storage outlook 2019: 2018 year-in-review and outlook to 2024 report.

But 2018 marked a sharp upturn for an already rapidly expanding market, with 140 per cent year-on-year growth in GWh terms, resulting in a total of 3.3GW/6GWh being deployed globally.

“More than half of the GWh during this period came online in 2018 alone, beckoning an inflection in storage demand,” said Ravi Manghani, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables Research Director. “There was a notable trend for solar-plus-storage projects providing semi-dispatchable renewable capacity.”

The report predicts this trend will continue. Between 2019 and 2024, major storage markets are projected to thrive, experiencing a GWh CAGR of 38 per cent and deployment numbers of 63GW/158GWh. The US and China are expected to dominate the market, making up 54 per cent of GWh deployed capacity by 2024.

“The electrification epoch will unfold more rapidly over the next five years,” said Rory McCarthy, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewable Senior Research Analyst. “We expect renewables-plus projects to become a popular trend through 2024. This is especially true for solar-plus-storage projects, as the requirement for clean and dispatchable renewables is widely accepted.

The capabilities of virtual power plants (VPPs) to provide capacity as well as frequency regulation services to the grid in Australia will be demonstrated through a new integration trial.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), is running the 12 to 18-month trial, with funding of AU$2.46 million (US$1.75 million) through the national renewables agency ARENA, the government said at the end of last week.

The country already has a number of VPPS in operation or in the process of being set up. Dozens of distributed energy resources (DERs), typically including home solar-plus-storage and energy storage systems at commercial and industrial premises that use batteries and are configured for bi-directional power flows to the grid, are connected together and their aggregated capabilities can be called on by utilities and grid operators as required.

These so-called behind-the-meter (i.e. located on the customer side of the utility meter) resources can be managed as one resource, in many ways playing the role of conventional, centralised power plants in stabilising grids and maintaining security, supply and quality of power. AEMO is going to invite Australia’s pilot-scale VPP projects to participate in the latest demonstrator, with the likes of Sonnen, Tesla and Sunverge among the international providers participating in such schemes.

Operating the distributed energy resources (DERs) in such a way will enable AEMO to inform how it creates appropriate regulation and operational processes, while ARENA’s funding will enable the market operator to “accelerate upgrades to AEMO’s systems and processes to allow smooth integration of VPPs before they reach commercial scale”, an ARENA release said.

There are about 530,000 potentially feasible pumped hydro energy storage sites worldwide, with a total storage potential of about 22 million GWh.

These astonishing numbers come from a report recently released by Professor Andrew Blakers and other researchers with Australian National University’s RE100 Group.

Pumped hydro already constitutes 97% of electricity storage worldwide because of its low cost, ANU says, and the proportion of wind and solar photovoltaics in the electrical grid is extending considerably. This means “additional long-distance high voltage transmission, demand management and local storage is required for stability.”

ANU researchers identified the potential sites and their potential using geographic information system (GIS) analysis.

The massive storage potential of about 22 million GWh “is about one hundred times greater than required to support a 100% global renewable electricity system,” ANU says. An approximate guide to storage requirements for 100% renewable electricity, based on analysis for Australia, is 1 GW of power per million people with 20 hours of storage, which amounts to 20 GWh per million people.

The identified sites are outside national parks and are mostly closed-loop (not river-based). Each identified site comprises an upper and lower reservoir pair plus a hypothetical tunnel route between the reservoirs, and includes data such as latitude, longitude, altitude, head, slope, water volume, water area, rock volume, dam wall length, water/rock ratio, energy storage potential and approximate relative cost (categories A-E). Brownfield sites (existing reservoirs, old mining sites) will be included in a future analysis.

Click here to access the AREMI website, which offers detailed global visualization (click Add Data/Renewable Energy/Hydro/Storage). AREMI is supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and Data61.

Don’t let President Trump’s comments regarding wind energy fool you. Renewable energy is very much on the rise in the U.S. — in fact, it actually about doubled over the past decade across the country. And according to a new report, there are approximately 530,000 potential pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) sites around the world, disproving arguments that there isn’t enough space to store wind and solar energy reserves.

For a little more background, PHES is “the most widespread and mature utility-scale storage technology currently available and it is likely to remain a competitive solution for modern energy systems based on high penetration of solar PV and wind energy,” according to another study on the topic, published in February 2019 by ScienceDirect. Essentially, PHES sites are the most common ways of storing wind and solar energy.

As reported by Smart-Energy, the new report was conducted by a group of researchers at Australian National University’s RE100 Group, led by Professor Andrew Blakers. Notably, the authors of then new study explained that PHES is much more affordable than other means of large-scale energy storage, and that there are way more potential storage sites than the Earth requires. “We found about 530,000 potentially feasible PHES sites with storage potential of about 22 million Gigawatt-hours (GWh) by using geographic information system (GIS) analysis,” reads the study. “This is about 100 times greater than required to support a 100 percent global renewable electricity system.”

Matthew Stocks, a researcher who worked on the new study, further explained the findings in layman’s terms when speaking with ScienceAlert. “Only a small fraction of the 530,000 potential sites we’ve identified would be needed to support a 100 percent renewable global electricity system,” Stocks told the outlet. “We identified so many potential sites that much less than the best 1 percent will be required. The perception has been there are limited sites for pumped hydro around the world, but we have found hundreds of thousands.”

Part of investors’ fascination with Tesla has long been the company’s focus on the evolution of manufacturing hardware and software. The plan to integrate energy generation and storage — to “create stunning solar roofs with seamlessly integrated battery storage,” as described in Master Plan, Part Deux — has also provided allure. Sure, the Tesla acquisition of SolarCity and how it has been rolled into Tesla has been controversial, but solar is a necessary element of Tesla’s EV + solar power + battery storage vision for a sustainable future.

When, on April 6, Tesla CEO Elon Musk made a confirmed visit to Buffalo to scope out the RiverBend plant, a 96-acre site at a sharp turn on the Buffalo River, the media, plant workers, and Tesla fans were all a-flutter. No, Musk has not spent much time on the premises at what’s called Gigafactory 2 (perhaps no time before this), but he has personally supervised the design and testing of the solar tiles that are Tesla’s next-gen solar rooftop product there.

Tesla’s vision for an independent renewable energy future is growing on people, and Musk says this will be the biggest year yet (by far) for the energy portion of the company.

The Energy Triumvirate: Transportation, Home Solar, & Battery Storage
What happens when a family opts to spend tens of thousands of dollars for a renewable energy system consisting of an all-electric EV, a solar system with a couple dozen panels, and a smart battery situated in the cellar?

On sunny days, photovoltaic panels can supply all of the household’s electricity needs and charge their car’s electric battery, too. Once these areas are replenished, the rooftop-generated power can supply what the stationary battery needs, extending the home’s capacity for nighttime energy demand and cloudy days. If all those needs are met, the unit’s digital control system automatically sends any excess energy into the power grid, typically offering the family some compensation from the local grid company.

If energy storage advocates have their way, storage will receive the same US tax benefits as does solar — an investment tax credit for new installations. Legislation to do just that was introduced in the House of Representatives late last week.

Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., would create a separate energy storage infrastructure investment tax credit based on the existing tax credits for solar energy. He introduced a similar bill in the last session of Congress, as did the U.S. Senate. The senate is expected to follow suit again during this session of Congress, all to provide parity among 21st century clean energy technologies.

“We commend Congressman Doyle for his leadership in the introduction of today’s legislation, which if enacted, would immediately boost investment in the energy storage industry and create even more economic opportunity,” said Energy Storage Association Chief Executive Kelly Speakes-Backman, in a statement. “It is a simple and impactful clarification of the current investment tax credit that would ensure equitable access for standalone storage and send long-term investment signals to an industry that supports tens of thousands of jobs nationwide.”

What’s next for microgrid policy? Join thought leaders and change-makers from throughout the US on May 13 in San Diego for a special Microgrid 2019 workshop: Tariffs, tax incentives, RECs or something else? What’s the way forward for the microgrid industry?

The investment tax credit for solar energy allows developers to deduct 30 percent of the cost of installing such systems on both residential and commercial properties. The 30 percent comes right off their federal taxes. In 2020, however, that credit is reduced to 26 percent and in 2021, it is cut to 22 percent. It would be 10 percent beyond that point — unless Congress steps in and extends it.

The Australian and international energy sector will meet in Sydney from 13–14 June to discuss the latest in storage technologies and how they are enabling the transition to new energy systems and a more reliable grid.

Sydney’s International Convention Centre will be host to the 2019 Australian Energy Storage Conference and Exhibition (AES 2019), the premier event for opportunities in energy storage.

This year’s theme, Energy Storage – The Great Enabler, will feature the biggest players in the industry exploring the latest in projects, technologies and processes for large-scale and commercial energy storage.

Thought-leaders and energy executives from around the world will showcase case studies and discuss topics including utility applications of energy storage technologies, the role of microgrids, grid-scale storage investment and current storage projects, as well as a look at where the sector is headed.

The combination of local and international perspectives will reveal similarities in storage challenges worldwide and inspire new approaches for grappling with Australia’s most pressing industry issues.

The event will also run a free-to-attend exhibition featuring cutting-edge technologies available on the market.

Early bird conference ticket registration is open until 12 April, providing significant savings for delegates.

The conference also provides many networking opportunities, including drinks and a dinner cruise, where attendees will get the chance to mingle with the experts and chat with industry peers in both formal and informal settings.

Meet the speakers

The first round of Australian and international expert speakers have been announced.

Robert G Morgan, CEO of Energy Storage at GE Power in the United States, brings a 30 year career in global energy markets to his keynote presentation, where he will address critical questions about corporate strategy and project development in the storage sector.