Electricity storage for intermittent renewable sources

Abstract

With sufficient electricity storage capacity, any power production profile may be mapped onto any desired supply profile. We present a framework to determine the required storage power as a function of time for any power production profile, supply profile, and targeted system efficiency, given the loss characteristics of the storage system. We apply the framework to the electrochemical storage of intermittent renewable power, employing a simplifying linear response approximation that permits the entire efficiency behavior of the system to be described by a single scalar figure of merit-the discharge power capacity. We consider three exemplary grid supply scenarios: constant, grid-minus-baseload, and square wave; and two different production scenarios: wind with a capacity factor 32.5%, and solar photovoltaic (PV) with a capacity factor of 14%. For each of these six combinations of scenarios, the storage energy and discharge power capacity requirements are found for a range of system efficiencies. Significantly diminishing efficiency returns are found on increasing the discharge power capacity. Solid-electrode batteries are shown to have two orders of magnitude too little energy to power ratio 1 to be well suited to the storage of intermittent renewable power. For both wind and PV, for all supply scenarios studied, installing 1 MW of peak storage per MW of peak production yields system efficiencies of 70%-90%.

A Membrane‐Free Redox Flow Battery with Two Immiscible Redox Electrolytes

“…Indeed, flexible and scalable energy-storage solutions are necessary for alleviating intermittent fluctuations in renewable-energy sources allowing their massive incorporation to the grid [1] and diminishing our undesired fossil fuel dependency. [2] Differing from conventional batteries, redox flow batteries (RFBs) utilize electroactive species that are dissolved in the electrolytes and stored in two external tanks, making it possible to decouple power and energy.…”

Benzoquinone-Hydroquinone Couple for Flow Battery

“…Because these sources are intermittent, it is becoming crucial to find cost-effective means of grid-scale energy storage, so that the temporal profile of natural supply can be matched to the demand profile. Flow batteries have received recent attention for this purpose, due to our ability to decouple energy and power capacities in their design, thereby allowing for the optimal sizing of each capability independently [1]. They may also become competitive with Pb-acid batteries for stationary storage applications such as off-grid storage of photovoltaically generated energy.…”

Dynamics of Lithium Dendrite Growth and Inhibition: Pulse Charging Experiments and Monte Carlo Calculations

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Li 0 , the lightest and most electropositive metal, should be the optimal anode material for rechargeable batteries if it were not for the fact that such devices fail unexpectedly by shortcircuiting via the dendrites that grow across electrodes upon recharging. [8][9] This phenomenon triggers a series of adverse events that start with overheating, followed by the thermal decomposition and ultimately the ignition of the organic solvents used in such devices.…”