Enabling Renewable Energy and the Future Grid with Advanced Electricity Storage
Environmental concerns about using fossil fuels and their resource constrains, along with that on energy security, have spurred great interests in generating electrical energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar. The variable and stochastic nature of renewable sources however makes solar and wind power difficult to manage, especially at high levels of penetration. To effectively use the intermittent renewable energy and enable its delivery demand electrical energy storage (EES) that can also improve the reliability, stability, and efficiency of the electrical grid, which is expected to support plug-in electrical vehicles; enable real-time, two-way communication to balance demand and supply. While EES has gained wide attention for hybrid and electrical vehicle (e.g. plug-in-hybrid electrical) needs, public awareness and understanding of the critical challenges in energy storage for renewable integration and the future grid is relatively lacking. This paper examines the benefits and challenges of EES, in particular electrochemical storage or battery technologies, and discusses the fundamental principles, economics, and feasibility of the storage technologies. It intends to provide an understanding of the needs and challenges of electrical storage technologies for the stationary applications and offer general directions of research and development to the materials community.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 991586
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-74349; 650103000; TRN: US201021%%223
- Journal Information:
- JOM. The Journal of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, 62(9):14-23, Vol. 62, Issue 9; ISSN 1047-4838
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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