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TheNeedforElectricityStorage
Storageontheelectricgridistheonlyenvironmentallyfriendlywaytoreliablyaddlargeamountsof
intermittentrenewablegeneration,suchaswindandsolar.Thechallengewithintermittentrenewablesisthat
theyhaveunpredictableoutputsthatcancausesysteminstabilityandunreliability(e.g.blackoutswhenthe
windstopsblowing).
Texashasalreadyexperiencedgridinstabilityproblemsduetounexpectedfalloffinwind:
Anabruptlossof1,200megawattsofwindenergyproductiononFeb.26[2008]thatcaughtthe
ElectricReliabilityCouncilofTexasInc.bysurpriseandforcedittodeclareemergency
conditionsunderscoresacriticalpolicyissue,accordingtoakeyindustryofficial.
ERCOTsaidthesharpdropinproductionduringathreehourperiodwhileoverallelectricity
loadswereincreasingthreatenedthestabilityofthepowergridandcouldhavecausedrolling
blackouts.
...DavidCrane,PresidentandCEOofNewJerseybasedNRGEnergyInc.,saidtheincident
underscoresthemostcriticalenergypolicyissuefacingthepowerindustry.
"Ifasystemcangounstableinthewinterbecause1,500MWofexpectedwindturnsinto400
MWwindandthenfossilhastoscrambletocomeonlineandseveralofourplantshadto
scrambletofillthegapthat'sabigissueandthere'sgoingtobeabigdebate,"Cranesaid.
HoustonBusinessJournalFriday,February29,2008
Californiaisfacingsimilarchallenges,aswilltherestofthecountryaswindandsolarusagegrowsbeyond
10%.ThechartbelowisfromaCaliforniastudyontheirregularoutputofwind.Itshowsthatthewindcan
dropoffrapidlyinthemiddleofthemorningwhentheloadisincreasingaspeoplearriveatwork(Day29).
Storagecanpreserveenergywhenthewindisblowing,andfeedthatenergybackintothegridwhenthe
windstops.

Newtypesofenergystoragetechnologiesareneededthatcanhelpwiththeintegrationoflarge
amountsofrenewablesandenergyfromintermittentresources.
IntegrationofRenewableResources,CAISOReport,November2007
Solar

SolarphotovoltaicpowerfromthelargestexistingU.S.array,a4.6MWsystemin
[Springerville]Arizona,alsoexhibitsintermittency.SolarPVdataat10secondtimeresolution
foronedayareshown[above]...EveninArizona,themajorityofdaysdonotexhibitsteady
solarPVpower.
"TheSpectrumofPowerfromUtilityScaleWindFarmsandSolarPhotovoltaicArrays",JayApt
andAimeeCurtright,CarnegieMellonElectricityIndustryCenterWorkingPaperCEIC0804

BenefitsofStorage
Storageprovidesmultiplebenefits:

Storagecanprovideregulationservices(secondbysecondadditionofenergyto/fromthegridto
keeptotalgenerationpreciselymatchedtototalload.)
Storagecanprovideloadfollowing(adjustingtoshiftsinwindandsolarovertimeframesofminutesto
hours)
Storagecanprovideramping(compensatingformultihourchangesinrenewableoutputs)
Storagerespondsinstantly(underasecond,versusfossilplantstakingtensofminutes)
Storageaddsnoenergytothegridwhileitisstandingbytoprotectagainstadropoffintheoutput
fromrenewables.(Incontrast,fossilplantscreateenergyandemitpollutionwhenstandingbyat
minimumsettingsthisenergyisunwantedwhenrenewablegenerationishigh.)
Storagehaszeroemissions
Storageuseszerowaterresources
Storageisquiet
Storagelocatednearloadscanreliablyprovidepowertoacommunityduringablackout
Storagecaneliminatetheneedfornewtransmissionanddistributionlinesbymakingbetteruseuseof
existingwiresduringslowtimes.Forexample,inthemiddleofthenight,energyfromremotewind
generatorscanbemovedclosetotheload,foruseduringpeakperiodsthenextday.
Storagecanbequicklydeployed,typicallyinafewquarters.Incontrast,fossilplantstakeyears(and
arealmostimpossibletositeinurbanareas.)Transmissioncantakeuptoadecadetoobtainrightof
waysandbuild.
Storagecanberelocatedifdemographicshiftsresultinchangedrequirements

Itisdifficulttooverstatetheimportanceofenergystorage.Theefficiencyandcostcompetitivenessof
renewableelectricitygenerationandalternativefuelvehiclescouldbesignificantlyimprovedbythe
availabilityoflowcost,highcapacitystorage.Forexample,becausesolarandwindpowergeneration
isintermittentthesunandthewindarenotconstantlyavailablethesesystemsrequireenergy
storageiftheyaretoserveasareliablesupplyofelectricitythroughouttheday.
President'sCouncilofAdvisorsonScienceandTechnology,TheEnergyImperative:Technologyand
theRoleofEmergingCompanies,November2006(PDF)

StorageisEssentialforGreenBenefitsfromWind&Solar
Storageisessentialifthegreenbenefitsofrenewablesaretobefullyrealized.Itmakesnosensetoprotect
againstafalloffinwindorsolaroutputbyrunningfossilfuelplantsonidle24x7,wheretheiremissionsare
attheirdirtiest.Usingfossilfuelplantsthiswaynegatesmanyofthegreenbenefitsofthewindandsolar.
AstudybyWarrenKatzenstein,andJayAptofCarnegieMellonUniversitypredictsthattheCO2andNOx
emissionswillfallwellshortofthesavingsonemightexpectforwindpenetrationfactorsfrom0%to100%,
whenfossilplantsareusedtosmooththewindoutput.Inparticular,theNOxpollutionremainsprettymuch

unchangedifthefossilplantisbasedontheLM6000turbine,andtheNOxemissionsactuallygetworseas
morewindisadded,ifthefossilplantusesa501FDturbine.

AsystemwithrenewablesthatusesLM6000turbinesforfillinpowerachieves7679%oftheexpected
CO2emissionsreductionsand2045%oftheexpectedNOxemissionsreductions.Anemissions
displacementanalysiswouldhaveoverestimatedemissionsreductionsby23%forCO2emissionsand
by5580%forNOxemissions.Similarpenaltiesof24%areincurredfor501FDCO2emissions
reductions,butNOxemissionsincreasebyfactorsof26timestheamountemissionswereexpected
tobereduced,becauseoftheunoptimizedNOxperformanceofthe501FDsystembelow50%power.
[boldfaceaddedbyMegaWattforemphasis]
AirEmissionsDueToWindAndSolarPowerWarrenKatzenstein,andJayAptEnviron.Sci.Technol.,
2009,43(2),253258DOI:10.1021/es801437tPublicationDate(Web):19December2008

CANeeds4GWby2020(5%ofpeakdemand)
MegaWatt'sanalysisoftheCaliforniagridindicatesthatabout4GWofstorage(about5%ofthepeak
demand)willbeneededtosupportthe33%RPSgoalof2020.Wehavepresentedthisatmultiple
conferencesandhavebeentoldbyindustryanalysts,utilityexecutivesandgovernmentofficialsthatthisisin
linewiththeirownestimates.Webelieve1GWisneededinNorthernCalifornia,2GWintheLAarea,and
1GWinSanDiego.

Ifwearetoachievethesetargets,weneedtostartworkingnowtobuild0.5GW/year(500MW/year)rateof
batteryproductioncapacityandstoragedeploymentjustforCalifornia.ThetotalUSAneedswillbefar
larger.
Notethat1GWofstoragecanprovide2GWofadjustablerange,sinceitcanvaryfromchargingat1GWto
dischargingat1.Incontrast,therangeofa1GWfossilplant,fromitsminimumoperatingpointtoits
maximumoutput,islessthan1GW.WhiletheDOEreportcitedbelowestimates50GWoffossilplantsis
neededby2030tosupporta20%RPSfromwind,averylargepartofthiscouldbeprovidedbystorage.
TheJuly2008U.S.DepartmentofEnergy(DOE)report"20%WindEnergyby2030:IncreasingWind
EnergysContributiontoU.S.ElectricitySupply"discussesthescenarioinwhichintegrationof300
gigawatts(GW)ofwindenergyintotheU.S.gridisachieved.Todealwiththevariabilityofthewind
energyoutput,approximately50GWofnewpeakingplantgasturbineswouldbeusedtosupplement
orcompensateforthevariabilityofthewindpowersoutput.Energystoragecouldserveaportionof
thisneededcapacity.
"BottlingElectricity:StorageasaStrategicToolforManagingVariabilityandCapacityConcernsin
theModernGrid",ElectricityAdvisoryCommittee,December2008
"20%WindEnergyby2030:IncreasingWindEnergysContributiontoU.S.ElectricitySupply",DOE,
July2008

GovernmentSupportforStorage

Thesuccessofgreenprogramsoftendependsongovernmentmandatesbecausethebenefits,while
economicallyattractiveatasocietallevel,aredistributedacrossthepopulationandthusdifficulttocapturein
aspecifictransaction.Thiswastruewithautomobileemissionslegislation.Itwasalsotruewithrenewables,
whereRenewablePortfolioStandardsandtaxincentiveswereneededtomotivatedeploymentofwindand
solar.Similarly,Demand/Responseprogramsrequiredgovernmentmandatestoencourageformationof
demand/responseaggregators.Theseaggregatorsemergedtoeconomicallycombinethesmallenergysavings
ofmultiplesmallerusersintogridscalebenefits.
Storagecanprovideclean,green,economicalintegrationofwindandsolar.Buttodaytherearelimited
financialincentivestoinstallstoragecertainlynotenoughtodeploythetensofGWsneededtomeetour
renewablegoals.

AGreenStandardof5%Storage
Whatisurgentlyneededisagovernmentmandateforinstallationofstorage.Webelieveareasonable
standardisthatstoragebebuilttomeet5%ofthepeaksystemdemandinCalifornia,insupportofthe2020
RPSstandardof33%renewables.Deploymentofthisstoragewouldfacilitateexpansionofrenewablesto
meetRPSgoals,whileensuringbothdependabledeliveryofpowerandrecognitionofthefullgreenbenefits
oftherenewables.Thisstoragewouldalsoreducetheneedfornewtransmissionanddistribution.
"Largescale,megawattlevelelectricitystoragesystems,ormultiple,smallerdistributedstorage
systems,couldsignificantlyreducetransmissionsystemcongestion,managepeakloads,make
renewableelectricitysourcesmoredispatchable,andincreasethereliabilityoftheoverallelectric
grid."
StatementofKevinM.Kolevar,Director,OfficeofElectricityDelivery&EnergyReliability,
DepartmentofEnergytotheCommitteeonScienceandTechnology,SubcommitteeonEnergyand
Environment,U.S.HouseofRepresentatives,March7,2007(PDF)
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