RE: power purchase18 Dec 2019 11:59
https://www.financierworldwide.com/the-future-of-storage#.XfoTH2T7SUk
In much of the discussion of renewables as part of the energy mix, the argument often focuses on the unreliable or intermittent nature of these different sources of energy. While at one stage it was true that renewables would not work as firm capacity, the landscape continues to change. With an increasing preponderance of different forms of renewables, such as wind, solar and more recently, tidal and biomass, there is less reliance on any one form of generating electricity or of sun or wind in one place only so the likelihood of everything not generating at the same time is reduced. However, there could still be gaps where the supply is less than demand, which means we still need to consider storage to secure renewables as firm capacity.
The conventional wisdom is that the cost of renewable storage is too high for it to be economically viable, and while that was previously the case, it will not be true going forward.
Batteries alone cannot carry the storage load
Storage does not start and stop with lithium batteries, however. It is not a perfect technology. First, it takes significant energy to produce them. Second, the performance of lithium ion batteries deteriorates over time, so the amount of charge that can be stored reduces and the time to charge increases in relative terms, making them less attractive for energy storage. Third, at present the batteries are still used, if not in their primary application then in a second one. However, continuing to use lithium batteries may lead to a future surplus of unusable batteries.
Vanadium oxide
Another alternative is vanadium oxide, or similar electrolytes, where electricity produces two liquids stored separately, which are then combined again to produce electricity. It dates originally from the 1930s but is now coming back to the fore. The advantage of this technology is it is very scaleable in tanks for large-scale, long-term storage.
Clearly, there are several alternatives which can help to fill the role of storage, each with different advantages and disadvantages, but together meaning that delivering large-scale, firm, dependable capacity in a mostly renewable energy system is becoming increasingly feasible.
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