A new report has concluded that investment in energy storage technology is vital for the success of renewable energy and its full integration into the energy sector.

According to a new study published by researchers from the University of East Anglia (UAE), government subsidies should be used so as to encourage further investment in energy storage, without which the authors of the report believe renewable energy will struggle to be fully integrated into the energy sector. The inherent variable nature of leading renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar requires energy storage so as to compensate for times when the wind may not be blowing, or the sun may not be shining. Energy storage systems such as reversed hydro power plants, large scale compressed air systems, and battery storage, are quickly being seen to be a vital companion to most, if not all, renewable energy technology installations.

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Energy Storage News – Solar power has always seemed on its surface to be the perfect solution to the world’s reliance on fossil fuels. After all, sunlight is free and abundantly available. The problem has always been efficiency, since solar panels generate power far less efficiently than other options. In fact, it takes about 40 square meters of solar panels to generate enough energy to power just one American home for a day, based on average use.

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Government subsidies should be used to encourage investment in energy storage systems if renewable power is to be fully integrated into the sector, according to researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA).

Variable output renewable energy systems, such as wind turbines and solar panels, are growing across Europe and contribute to supply and price volatility in electricity markets.

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Energy Storage News – Scientists from the University of East Anglia found wind and solar power can’t compete with conventional electricity without economical energy storage systems that don’t exist.

The research published Friday concludes without economical energy storage systems, wind and solar power simply aren’t that useful due to their unreliability and intermittent nature. The study argues the money used to financially support wind and solar power should be spent supporting research into bringing down the costs of energy storage.

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Energy Storage News – Many years ago, I was part of a U.S. Air Force program with the goal of reducing the battery weight carried by airmen and soldiers by 25 percent. The Air Force Program Office, after scouring the market for the ideal battery solution, quickly learned that no rechargeable battery could meet the power density, energy density, lifetime, and size/weight requirements.

However, they did not abandon the project — they took a hybrid approach to the problem.

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Energy Storage News – The Intertubes have been buzzing with news of a new “hourglass” flow battery that could provide a durable, low cost energy storage system for the nation’s vast wind and solar resources. The old meme about clean power being unreliable is fast disappearing, and if the new battery pans out, that will seal the deal.

In addition to becoming an area of interest for the Energy Department’s solar and wind grid integration efforts, flow batteries are also edging their way into electric vehicle technology.

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About 250 of the world’s leading energy storage experts are gathering at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland this week to discuss research that could make electric transportation and use of renewable energy more practical.

They will consider next-generation storage technologies that could be less costly, safer and more environmentally friendly that today’s state-of-the-art energy storage device, the lithium-ion battery.

Energy Storage News – With the change-over from centralised fossil fuel power to distributed renewable energy, there is intense interest in battery storage to cope with intermittency of solar PV and wind power. There is no doubt that batteries will have a major part in the transition. Apart from flow batteries, however, the opportunities for multiple-hour storage and discharge at scale over a period of hours is still unresolved. It is implemented for cars and household storage and indeed the first steps to access power stored in the batteries of Electric Vehicles have already been taken.

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Energy Storage News – US based SimpliPhi Power continues to gain traction in the Australian market with its award-winning cobalt-free lithium-ion storage solutions now incorporated as part of GSES’ (Global Sustainable Energy Solutions Pty Ltd) training courses. GSES is a renewable energy engineering, training and consultancy. It has recently launched the grid-connect PV with battery storage course at their training centre in Botany (NSW), as well as a purpose built mobile training unit.  GSES’ practical training for this course includes the SimpliPhi lithium ferro phosphate batteries.

As new energy storage technology continues to emerge and costs continue to decline, more  customers and installers are interested in understanding how to integrate these storage solutions into their on/off grid solar systems for both new installations and retrofits. Energy storage provides a second level of power security and cost savings for customers and savvy solar installers who understand the added value storage brings to their residential and commercial systems. Identifying the goals and objectives of the customer for on/off grid installations requires asking the right questions and knowing what type of system integration can meet those objectives, using storage as the leverage point to optimize the assets.

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