Grid.dle me this?
One might wonder why exactly do we need energy storage today when renewables produce loads of energy and even more hype (fully deserved).
Before we begin that conversation, let’s start by understanding what the electricity grid really is.
The energy grid is an integrated network for delivering electricity that connects producers to consumers via high-voltage power transmission lines and substations that convert the high-voltage power to a lower voltage (a process known as “stepping down”). It is, at its crux, a complex system in which power supply and demand must be equal at all times. The grid must account for daily patterns and fluctuations (such as greater electricity demands at peak periods of the day and night) and must be resilient enough to withstand unexpected changes caused by sudden equipment overloads and natural phenomena like storms that could disrupt the grid altogether.
This is where energy storage comes in. (Drum roll, please).
Energy storage is a crucial part of this balancing act since it contributes to a more flexible and stable grid system. Many prominent renewable energy systems, such as wind and solar, have largely fluctuating outputs. Energy storage technologies have tremendous potential for leveling out the supply of energy from these sources, storing them if needed, and ensuring that generation supply matches demand at all times.
Basically, when there is more supply than demand, such as the early hours of the day/morning, any extra electricity generated can be used to power storage devices. When demand exceeds supply, storage facilities can release this stored energy to the grid, ensuring no hiccups happen at all. Perfection.
With the aid of world governments and the cleanTech industry, energy storage technologies can and will continue to develop and expand, assisting in the increased commissioning & deployment of important (but indubitably variable and fluctuating) renewable energy sources and storing an ever-increasing amount of clean, renewable energy in the future.
Thus, I believe that energy storage is poised to play a key role as the world makes the transition to a cleaner (and greener) energy economy.
