WASHINGTON – As Colorado pushes toward its goal of 100% reliance on renewable energy by 2040, deploying grid-scale energy storage should play a crucial role, experts say.
Energy storage experts and utility company executives urged the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last month to invest in making energy storage more affordable and in developing innovative storage technology.
“Energy storage really is the way we’re going to harness the full potential of alternative energy,” said Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., who is a member of the Senate energy committee and sponsor of two energy storage bills this year.
Xcel Energy, Colorado’s largest utility, has committed to an 80% reduction of carbon emissions by 2030 and going carbon-free by 2050.
Xcel is relying more and more on wind and solar energy. But its lack of capacity to store renewable energy for times when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining hinders further reliance on clean energy, said Xcel CEO Ben Fowke.
“Wind and solar provide low-price clean energy to our customers, but they are intermittent and seasonal,” Fowke told the Senate energy committee at last month’s hearing on energy storage. “Grid-scale storage can help with renewable integration.”
For decades, Xcel and other utilities have used pumped-hydro storage systems, which involve two reservoirs at different elevations. When there is excess electricity, water is pumped from the lower reservoir to the upper one through a pipe. When energy is needed, water flows to the lower reservoir through a turbine, generating energy.
While pumped-hydro energy storage is still common, utilities are increasingly using lithium-ion batteries. These batteries, however, can only store power for up to four hours, which is hardly long enough to withstand a cloudy day, let alone a dreary winter.
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