A new report has shown that the total storage capacity worldwide will increase a hundred-fold over the next 10 years, pushing the number from 121 megawatts (MW) in 2011 to 12,353 MW in 2021.
That number equates to a growth of just over $122 billion of investment in energy storage projects over the same timeframe.
Traditionally, electricity grids don’t have a lot of room for storage. What is generated is passed through the grid and, if it is not used, it disappears. Including energy storage allows grid operators a new way to manage their grids more effectively, but even then, the storage mechanisms that currently exist have been fraught with issues.
“Inflexible electricity market structures, high capital costs for energy storage projects, a disconnection between the owners of assets and the entities which benefit from such projects, and instability in the grid,” according to a Pike Research report entitled ‘Energy Storage on the Grid’, are some of the “factors currently limiting the growth of the energy storage sector.”
Older-styled storage mechanisms such as pumped storage and compressed air have been around for decades, but they’re getting a new lease on life and, together with newer technologies, they are being demonstrated in North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East.
“Traditionally, grid operators have only had access to generation assets, such as natural gas peakers, to balance electricity flows across the grid by adding power to it,” says research analyst Anissa Dehamna. “Energy storage provides grid operators with an alternative to traditional grid management, offering a variety of technologies that together are well-suited for up to 17 applications of energy storage.”
Source: Pike Research
Image Source: -5m on Flickr
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