MIT engineers have come up with a conceptual design for a system to store renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, and deliver that energy back into an electric grid on demand. The system may be designed to power a small city not just when the sun is up or the wind is high, but around the clock.

The new design stores heat generated by excess electricity from solar or wind power in large tanks of white-hot molten silicon, and then converts the light from the glowing metal back into electricity when it’s needed. The researchers estimate that such a system would be vastly more affordable than lithium-ion batteries, which have been proposed as a viable, though expensive, method to store renewable energy. They also estimate that the system would cost about half as much as pumped hydroelectric storage — the cheapest form of grid-scale energy storage to date.

“Even if we wanted to run the grid on renewables right now we couldn’t, because you’d need fossil-fueled turbines to make up for the fact that the renewable supply cannot be dispatched on demand,” says Asegun Henry, the Robert N. Noyce Career Development Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. “We’re developing a new technology that, if successful, would solve this most important and critical problem in energy and climate change, namely, the storage problem.”

Henry and his colleagues have published their design today in the journal Energy and Environmental Science.

Record temps

The new storage system stems from a project in which the researchers looked for ways to increase the efficiency of a form of renewable energy known as concentrated solar power. Unlike conventional solar plants that use solar panels to convert light directly into electricity, concentrated solar power requires vast fields of huge mirrors that concentrate sunlight onto a central tower, where the light is converted into heat that is eventually turned into electricity.

“The reason that technology is interesting is, once you do this process of focusing the light to get heat, you can store heat much more cheaply than you can store electricity,” Henry notes.

Concentrated solar plants store solar heat in large tanks filled with molten salt, which is heated to high temperatures of about 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. When electricity is needed, the hot salt is pumped through a heat exchanger, which transfers the salt’s heat into steam. A turbine then turns that steam into electricity.

BOULDER, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–A new report from Navigant Research tracks global energy storage projects, providing data on the country, region, market segment, capacity, status, technology vendor, systems integrator, applications, funding, investment, and key milestones of each project.

Energy storage grants stakeholders flexibility on the generation, transmission, distribution, and end-use sides of the grid. As a result, the energy storage landscape has grown increasingly sophisticated through 2018, marked by new types of projects that are being monetized by innovative business models. Click to tweet: According to a new report from @NavigantRSRCH, worldwide, more than 1,900 energy storage projects exist, marking an increase of about 200 projects since last year.

“Several new companies have entered the market across the energy storage value chain while legacy companies have sought to bolster their presence,” says Ian McClenny, research analyst with Navigant Research. “The growing need to modernize global electricity grids and the evolution of business cases for deploying storage ensure that this market will continue to grow quickly over the coming years.”

Other factors driving the energy storage market forward include the restructuring of electricity markets and an increase of variable generation sources. In addition, Navigant Research expects energy storage to increasingly become a viable option to meet changes in load, which will play a critical role in the structure and operation of the power grid.

The report, Energy Storage Tracker 4Q18, provides a comprehensive resource of global energy storage projects. The Tracker includes a database of 1,935 projects and tracks the country, region, market segment, capacity, status, technology vendor, systems integrator, applications, funding, investment, and key milestones of each project. In addition, the report includes an analysis of the technology choice within each major region for energy storage, analysis of the leading regions for energy storage capacity and projects, and market share analysis for technology vendors for deployed projects and projects in the pipeline. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the Navigant Research website.

The U.S. energy storage market continued its rapid expansion in the third quarter of 2018, and new state storage incentives and mandates and FERC Order 84 have doubled the country’s pipeline of projects to a record-setting 33 gigawatts. But battery supply constraints, slower than expected progress by some utilities, and new fire codes in the key market of California are headwinds facing the industry through this and next year.

These are some of the key data points from the U.S. Energy Storage Monitor released this week by Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and the Energy Storage Association (ESA), which reported 61.3 megawatts and 136.3 megawatt-hours of storage deployed in the third quarter of the year. These are slightly below the second quarter’s figures, but nearly twice the scale of projects reported from the same quarter last year.

And the types of projects being deployed has shifted over the past year as well. For example, the third quarter’s front-of-meter, utility-scale battery projects were down 14 percent year-over-year when measured in terms of their megawatt power ratings. But in terms of megawatt-hours – how long they can provide their rated power capacity – the projects deployed in the third quarter were up 178 percent compared to the same quarter last year.

This is largely because, unlike the short-duration frequency regulation projects that have made up the lion’s share of historical front-of-meter deployments, more recent projects are starting to tackle longer-duration challenges such as providing capacity and load shifting. Four-hour systems are becoming the norm for front-of-meter projects, the report noted.

In terms of sheer duration of storage deployed, 2018 hasn’t yet caught up to the records set by the massive Aliso Canyon procurements in California during late 2016 and early 2017. But a host of policy and market developments are setting the stage for faster storage growth, such as Arizona’s continued push into solar-plus-storage projects, Xcel Energy’s plan for 275 megawatts of batteries to support nearly 2 gigawatts of wind and solar power, or NV Energy’s plan for 100 megawatts of storage to accompany more than a gigawatt of new solar.

NEW YORK, Dec. 5, 2018 — Peak Power Inc., a leading energy services provider, announced today that it has successfully completed the installation of 375 kW / 940 kWh of battery energy storage with GHP Realty, a division of Houlihan-Parnes Realtors, LLC, at their headquarters at 4 West Red Oak Lane, White Plains, New York. This project was funded in part through an incentive from a Con Edison Energy Efficiency program.

“Peak Power is proud to partner with GHP Realty, a well-respected leader in the New York real estate community,” said Derek Lim Soo, CEO of Peak Power. “The electric industry is changing and energy storage systems can add tremendous value by reducing costs for building owners, while providing added resiliency and fast response grid services to the utility.”

This project represents one of the largest energy storage installations in a commercial building in New York. It features Lockheed Martin’s Gridstar 2.0 energy storage technology, paired with Peak Power’s intelligent software platform, Synergy. The Synergy software optimizes the operation of distributed energy assets such as battery energy storage, electric vehicles, and solar. It forecasts moments of peak demand on the grid through the use of Big Data and Machine Learning, a form of Artificial Intelligence. This project also utilizes Peak Power’s Building Insight Platform (BIP) which uses internet embedded sensors within the building as part of a comprehensive energy management system.

“This project offers a glimpse into our clean energy future in which customers will have reliability and resiliency,” said Vicki Kuo, director of Energy Efficiency for Con Edison. “The owners of this building took advantage of our incentive program to install a technology that will lower their energy costs and enable them to earn revenue by reducing their usage when demand on our grid is high.”

The energy storage system will generate significant long term savings and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from electricity use. It will also help reduce the need for power from Con Edison’s grid at times when the demand for electricity is high, which usually occurs on hot summer days. That will help Con Edison keep its service reliable for its 3.4 million customers in New York City and Westchester County. Energy storage systems are crucial for the future of the electrical grid to more effectively and efficiently balance variable generation with demand.

Wow, talk about the Deep State in action. President* Trump promised to bring back all the coal jobs, but meanwhile the Department of Energy has been busily laying plans for next generation, long duration energy storage systems. That translates into more opportunities for bringing wind and solar power into the nation’s electricity grid, and that pretty much slams the door on the idea of reviving the nation’s coal power sector.

US coal power plants were closing at a rapid clip before Trump came into office, and coal power has kept on bleeding out under his watch. The new R&D program practically guarantees that the hurt will continue for coal miners, their families and their communities long after Trump leaves office.

More And Longer (And Cheaper) Energy Storage

CleanTechnica has been following along with the Energy Department’s work on long duration battery systems since last May, when the agency announced it would provide $30 million in funding for R&D.

The agency envisions utility scale storage systems that can deliver power to 50,000 homes over a long period of time — and not just for a few hours. They want to see systems in the range of 10 to 100 hours, preferably 100.

As if that’s not enough, low cost is also a priority. In other words, the Energy Department wants you to have your energy storage cake and eat it, too.

That pretty much cuts out today’s go-to technologies for energy storage. Lithium-ion batteries would be too expensive to scale up. Pumped hydro fits the bill for duration and capacity, but suitable sites are few and far between.

So, what’s left?

The Long Duration Energy Storage Cake

For the record, the $30 million pot comes through a program called DAYS for Duration Addition to electricitY Storage (they kind of stretched the acronym but whatever). DAYS is under the umbrella of ARPA- E, the Energy Department’s office for high risk, high reward projects.

In the latest DAYS development, last week ARPA-E sealed the deal on an award to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of almost $2.8 million to lead an R&D team focusing on thermal energy storage.

The Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) on Monday (Dec. 3) filed its official proposal with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that some experts say will determine the future of the emerging battery storage marketplace in the U.S.

MISO, a nonprofit grid operator based in Carmel, Ind., said it filed tariff changes that advance the future deeper integration of energy storage across its 15-state footprint. MISO officials said the proposal filed with FERC was crafted in consultation with its stakeholders and reflects feedback from multiple discussions, workshops and rounds of written comments.

“We can only achieve important milestones like this through significant stakeholder involvement and extensive effort from the multiple parties involved,” said MISO Executive Vice President Richard Doying. “We look forward to the construction and implementation phases in 2019 and continued collaboration as we enhance our market design to integrate future technologies.”

Under the landmark FERC Order 841 that was approved by agency commissioners in early February, regional transmission operators and independent system operators across the U.S. are required to come up with market rules for energy storage to participate in the wholesale energy, capacity and ancillary services markets that recognize the physical and operational characteristics of the resource.

According to MISO officials, battery and other storage resources have emerged as the nation’s electric fleet has undergone significant transformation, driven by energy policy, economic realities and consumer changes. Monday’s action addresses compliance needs for the FERC, which becomes effective Dec. 3, 2019. MISO’s proposal is technology neutral and includes all technologies and/or storage mediums, officials said, including but not limited to batteries, flywheels, compressed air and pumped-hydro.

“Allowing Electric Storage Resources to participate fully in MISO’s markets will enhance competition, promote greater market efficiency and help support the resilience of the bulk power system,” said Doying.

Neoen’s 6MW frequency balancing unit

Negotiations in New Hampshire produced a pivotal test case for how home energy devices can reduce overall grid costs.

Liberty Utilities proposed a groundbreaking home battery pilot last year, in which the company would own 1,000 Tesla Powerwalls in customer homes. The customers would get backup power and a time-based retail rate; the utility would aggregate the batteries to reduce its costs for monthly and annual system peaks and to offset wires upgrades.

That concept triggered a debate among New Hampshire stakeholders about the appropriate limits of utility ownership in a competitive marketplace. Companies like Sunrun wanted industry to have a chance to participate and get time-of-use rates for their customers. And questions remained about the utility’s ability to forecast peaks and respond to them.

A settlement has emerged from those negotiations, signed November 15. Regulators held a hearing on it Thursday and will finalize their decision in the coming weeks.

The consensus document scales down Liberty’s proposal and institutes granular checkpoints it must clear to scale up. It also creates a “bring your own device” program that other companies can compete for.

Sunrun didn’t sign on, but declined to oppose the outcome. It all turned out amicably, without the bloodletting that ensued from the net-metering battles of yore.

“It shows where we’re at in 2018: A small state [and] small utility can submit a proposal for residential batteries that really moves the entire industry forward,” said Chris Rauscher, Sunrun’s public policy director for the Northeast. “We’re no longer in a cost conversation, we’re in a value conversation, and that’s exactly where we should be.”

Assuming nothing derails regulatory approval, New Hampshire could become the proving ground for several of the hottest topics in distributed energy policy.

Austin Energy is looking holistically at how storage can serve customers and the grid across the city of Austin, Texas.

The Sustainable and Holistic Integration of Energy Storage and Solar Photovoltaics (SHINES) program is harnessing utility-scale storage, distributed storage, smart inverters and data to help the local grid integrate more solar power.

How is it going since it launched earlier in the year?

We sit down with Jackie Sargent, the general manager of Austin Energy, ahead of her participation in Energy Storage Summit (San Francisco, December 11-12) to discuss early lessons from the first phase of the program.

“The value of experiencing these things firsthand cannot be overstated,” explained Sargent.

Earlier this year, the project was recognized by GTM as one of the winners of the 2018 Grid Edge Innovation Awards.

GTM: Can you reflect on learnings so far from the SHINES program?

Jackie Sargent: This project presents an opportunity to study battery storage at three levels along the utility value chain: grid-scale, commercial-scale and residential-scale. Though Austin SHINES is still in the early stages, we’ve already learned a lot about the interconnection process of putting battery storage on the distribution system. From protection system coordination for inverter-based resources to selecting the right interconnection transformer windings, and from custom battery container design to environmental controls, the value of experiencing these things firsthand cannot be overstated.

Regarding behind-the-meter (BTM) energy storage, it’s really about understanding customer value propositions. We have to ask ourselves what are the reasons a customer would want to install storage on their own and how will the proliferation of two-way resources at the grid edge impact distribution feeders. Which issues are hyper-local and which have broader grid implications? We’re eager to answer these questions as we move into future phases of the project.

This year, yet another billionaire took a big bet on energy storage – twice. First, Patrick Soon-Shiong’s company NantEnergy bought zinc-air battery manufacturer Fluidic and earlier this month, he added in Sharp’s SmartStorage division in the US.

Soon-Shiong is treading a well-worn path. Wang Chuanfu, the head of Chinese firm BYD, has seen his company become a major electric vehicle and stationary energy storage manufacturer. Elon Musk, of course, segued Tesla into stationary storage as well. And one of the solar industry’s self-made billionaires, Jifan Gao, has also moved into energy storage.

Billion-dollar companies like Aggrekko, Wartsilla and Total have all completed energy storage acquisitions in recent times.

The opportunity could hardly carry a stronger endorsement. As more territories take a leaf out of California’s book and issue a mandate for energy storage installation, the market will be transformed. California is clearly in the forefront of Soon-Shiong’s mind.

“The acquisition of Sharp’s energy systems business and the SmartStorage brand immediately creates a foothold for NantEnergy in the US, particularly in the important California market,” he said at the time of the deal.

WoodMac this week forecast that energy storage installations could hit 780GW by 2040. Back at the end of last year, one estimate of that figure was as low as 3.8GW. But Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s 2030 predictions are equally spectacular.

Wind, solar, even the ethanol industry, have all created at least one billionaire. The common denominator is scale.