Understanding Sustainable Energy Storage

By Richard L Fenneman  

One of the greatest obstacles facing the sustainable energy industry is the lack of large-scale storage. It is widely known that an economical solution to sustainable energy storage is needed in order to adopt the goal of 100 percent usage of renewable energy sources. Many possible solutions to the problem of electrical energy storage are being researched and tested. This article will examine and attempt to determine the viability of some of the most common theories.

Current storage options for electrical energy

Some discussion is required about the current methods and ideas pertaining to the storage of electrical energies. The subject has been the focus of numerous research studies and many theories abound. The following are the five most common options along with a quick analysis:

1. Electrical energy- Supercapacitors store energy with activated carbon. They can be nearly instantaneously charged and release stored energy efficiently. Much research is underway to develop more inexpensive and readily available materials. Graphene is one possible material. Large-scale storage is not practical at this time. Supercapacitors hold much promise in the future, but current technology and cost make this a prohibitive strategy anytime in the near-term.

2. Potential energy- Hydro-electric pumped storage is the most popular type of option right now. Excess electrical energy is used to pump water to an upper reservoir and when needed the water is released to run turbines to generate electricity. This is an excellent intermediate storage system, but on a large-scale basis, the availability and cost of infrastructure is prohibitive.

3. Mechanical energy- Compressed air and flywheel energy storage hold some promise. This type of system uses excess energy to compress air and the air is then stored until needed. When the air is released, it can power turbines to create electrical power. There are a couple of projects being tested and the results are encouraging. These types of storage are also expensive and require a large infrastructure build-out.

4. Electrochemical energy- Battery storage also holds promise in the future. The current technology is lead-acid and lithium-ion. Large-scale storage is not feasible with current technologies. Unless a major break-through occurs, battery storage is too cost-prohibitive. There is a lot of research and work being done on battery technology at the present.

5. Chemical energy- Fuel conversion storage is the most promising option right now. This method relies on chemical reactions to convert electrical energy into an energy form that is storable. One good example of this is hydrogen fuel cells. If this can be accomplished economically, this has the best large-scale and long-term characteristics that are needed for viable energy storage.

This has been a very brief overview of energy storage technology. Currently, no comprehensive solution has been presented for solving our storage conundrum. In a future article, we will explore a very promising fuel conversion process, taking place in Germany. Sustainable energy storage is very important to the viability of a complete renewable energy future. Great minds are at work and confidence is high that a solution will be found.

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