Associated Press photo
At the Silicon Valley Energy Storage Symposium and Technology Showcase on January 20 in Sunnyvale, CA about 100 people attended to discuss energy storage technologies and the challenges we face.
Organized by Joint Venture of Silicon Valley, the symposium brought together key public officials, private sector leaders, academia and research participants whom engage in a discussion of the future of energy storage. For additional information about Joint Venture’s work and events, go to the last section of this article.
Storage technologies are an important element of the smart grid. In his keynote address, Brad Roberts presented ‘Electricity storage – Optimizing the use of renewable energy’.
Brad Roberts is the Power Quality Systems Director for S & C Electric Company and Executive Director of the Electricity Storage Association (ESA). In 2008, Mr. Roberts also lead the Electricity Advisory Committee - Energy Storage Technologies Subcommittee - at the US Department of Energy.
Mr. Roberts said that two huge industries, the utility and automotive, are in the process of transformation where energy storage is the problem as well as the solution for both. “Storage is one of a set of new resources and technologies that will facilitate a smarter grid. More bulk and distributed storage will help balance demand and bulk-power resources and dealing with transmission constraints,” he said. Both of the above industries will benefit from acceleration of battery technology development.
Roberts talked about the dilemma electricity storage creates: on one hand, existing storage programs have been successful, key to productivity, and are a driver in the consumer electronics industry (i.e. batteries in handheld devices as cell-phones, portable media players, portable game consoles, etc). However, moving electricity storage to the utility grid is viewed as expensive and unnecessary.
Roberts defined Electricity Storage as the process of using grid power to transform electricity to a storage media for release back to electricity when needed.
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Electricity storage will be the primary driver in transforming the U.S. electric power grid into a more reliable, secure, and efficient network, capable of dealing with extensive changes over the next several decades.
As generation by renewables, such as wind and solar, increases, so does the impact on grid operation, making it liable to rapid changes and unpredictability. Disparity in load and demand peaks creates an unbalanced grid system. To stabilize the electricity network under any conditions and also improve distribution and dispatch reliability, we need to look at various alternatives of electricity storage.
Roberts indicated that the most transformative technology for the electricity industry is energy storage, including the plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVs) (38%). An integrated smart grid is the next major undertaking (26%), followed by transmission superhighways (19%), renewables and low-carbon generation (15%), and demand resources that reduce newbuilds (3%).
If we focus on adding renewables as a solution for the growing demand for electricity, this by itself is not going to solve the power grid issue and we need to address energy production as well as storage to move forward.
Storage is an enabler of the smart grid. Roberts pointed out that electricity storage presents huge business opportunities for the power industry. “We must embrace the rebirth of the power technology industry. Storage could make renewables goals achievable at reasonable costs”, he said, ”electricity generation and distribution must be done in the US and cannot be sent offshore.”
To read more on this topic, several reports are available at the Department of Energy, Electricity Advisory Committee website.
Reports of interest include:
1. Keeping the Lights On
2. Smart Grid: Enabler of the New Energy Economy
3. Bottling Electricity: Storage as a Strategic Tool for Managing Variability and Capacity Concerns in the Modern Grid.
Joint Venture - Silicon Valley Network is an organization that provides analysis and action on issues affecting Silicon Valley’s economy and quality of life. The organization brings together established and emerging leaders - from business, government, academia, labor and the broader community - to spotlight issues and work toward innovative solutions.
The organization works on many initiatives in technology, education, business, regional parnerships, and other challenges.
Check Joint Venture's website – click on the Initiatives tab – for more information on various projects.
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