Longer duration energy storage solutions are expected to become more important as more
intermittent generation sources, such as wind and solar power, come onto the grid.
As the amount of wind generation increases, electric power system operators have faced challenges with integrating increasing amounts of
this intermittent generation source into their systems.
Not exact matches
But keeping those lights on amid ever increasing demand and the rise of wind, solar and other alternative
sources of electricity
generation that are inherently
intermittent is just one of the goals of a smart grid.
Therefore, power generators and grid operators need back - up capacity that can fill the
generation gap that results when these
intermittent sources are unavailable and that also can be scaled back when
intermittent sources are generating power.
However, replacing these power
sources with wind and solar farms requires megawatt - level storage capacity to buffer the
intermittent generation from these renewable
sources.
Unlike most
generation sources, wind has a fatal flaw: it is both
intermittent and unpredictable.
With liberalization of the electricity market and expansion of renewable
sources, distribution grid mandates have mounted, requiring, for example, that operators ensure their grids remain stable despite increased levels of
intermittent generation.
For example, if grids can't be adjusted to deal with
intermittent supply from renewable
sources like wind, that makes these
sources more expensive — and potentially reduces their EROI if a lot of gas - fired power is needed for backup
generation.
I suspect that, in practice, fridges and freezers will be useful for balancing the short term fluctuations in
generation from sustainable
sources such as solar photovoltaics affected by
intermittent cloud cover while water heating, electric car charging, and municipal water pumping will more nearly match the time spans involved in wind farm
generation.
Natural gas will reap $ 804 billion, bringing 16 percent more
generation capacity and making the fuel central to balancing a grid that's increasingly dependent on power flowing from
intermittent sources, like wind and solar.
Therefore,
intermittent renewables are not a suitable
source of power for pumped hydro, except in a few special, extraordinary cases --(such as El Heiro island where they have a 700 m high extinct volcano crater providing a large upper reservoir, good wind resource and are replacing high - cost diesel
generation.)
For example, utility - scale wind
generation, a particularly volatile
intermittent power
source, requires electricity operators to make significant adjustments to balance
generation and load, creating inefficiency in the system.
The green proposition of electric cars, especially the plug - in variety, is that by promoting the development of electricity
generation and energy storage technology development (in the form of energy storage devices such as batteries), electric cars are not only reducing the need for gasoline, but also creates pull factors for the development of grid - connected renewable energy
sources such as solar and wind energy by creating new electricity demand and provide energy storage solutions to address the problems of the
intermittent nature of solar and wind power.
The added costs imposed by
intermittent energy
sources like wind energy include the displacement of lower cost
generation (e.g., natural gas), requirement of dispatchable backup
generation, reduced capacity factors for conventional
generation, increased electric price volatility, and decreased system efficiency.
Storage is Still # 1 Thing to Figure Out While this high electricity
generation from a very clean
source is great news, it is also a good reminder that
intermittent and variable
sources of power pose a great challenge to the grid.