Battery storage technology has moved in fits and starts, but today experts note that rapid advances make it difficult for safety standards to keep pace. Developers of storage systems are designing projects to enhance reliability and resiliency, and help integrate renewable resources into the grid, while ensuring rewards outweigh the risks.
Battery storage is considered a complex technology, but its implications for power generation are clear. As storage costs come down, it presents a challenge for utilities behind the meter, with small-scale installations in homes and businesses disrupting rate design and the traditional utility business model.
Larger-scale installations, though, present opportunities for power providers, as storage becomes available for on-grid applications. Utilities are moving to procure storage assets to address long-term regulatory requirements and more short-term needs, such as enhancing reliability or substituting for other generation construction projects.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Argonne National Lab in a 2016 study wrote, “Electrical energy storage could play an important role in decarbonizing the electricity sector by offering a new, carbon-free source of operational flexibility, improving the utilization of generation assets, and facilitating the integration of variable renewable energy sources.” The researchers wrote that storage installations could replace gas-fired peaker plants, immediately supplying power during periods of high demand for electricity. The key was bringing down the cost of batteries while increasing their energy density and lifecycle.
That’s the task for battery manufacturers, as they work to create products that can store more energy, operate longer between charging cycles, and do it with less risk, as technology advancements are moving faster than safety codes can keep up.
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