USAID Grid-Scale Energy Storage Technologies Primer

Abstract

This refers to newer PSH installations and older PSH systems may have efficiencies closer to the 60-75% range. **: As CAES relies on both electricity to compress air and a fuel (typically natural gas) to expand the air, its efficiency cannot be readily compared to other storage technologies. The value used in this report represents the ratio of the output of electrical energy to the combined input of electrical energy for the compressor and the natural gas input for expansion, using the heating value of natural gas to convert its energy to how much electricity it could have produced (Mongird et al. 2019). † This range refers to a 10 MW 4-hour battery in 2020 costs. For lithium-ion, this refers to the NMC chemistry (see Section 2.1 for additional information on lithium-ion chemistries). See Mongird et. al. (2020) for additional energy storage sizes and durations and estimates for future years. † † : This range refers to 2018 costs. See Mongird et. al. (2019) for future years. † † † This range refers to 1000 MW 10-hour systems. See Mongird et. al. (2020) for additional energy storage sizes and durations and estimates for future years. † † † † This range refers to 100 MW 10-hour systems. See Mongird et. al. (2020) for additional energy storage sizes and durations and estimates for future years.

Pumped Storage Hydropower: A Grid Intermittency Solution

“…In March of 2022, PSH accounted for 23 GW of active storage, while all battery storage, the vast majority of which is lithium-ion (Kamiya, Hassid, and Gonzalez, 2021), accounted for 4 GW of storage (EIA, 2022a). Lithium-ion is an appropriate comparison for PSH because both are time-tested and widely deployed forms of energy storage (Bowen et al, 2021).…”

“…LIBs have a highly competitive price. An analysis by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has found that they have one of the lowest costs of grid-scale energy storage with a range of $1408 to $1947 per kilowatt (Bowen et al, 2021). Analysts predict battery costs will fall further over the coming years, even with the disruption by the coronavirus pandemic (Frith, 2021).…”

“…Another key advantage of LIB storage is its high energy density. Compared to other chemically-based energy storage, lithium-ion battery systems have the highest energy density at 210-325 wH/kg (Bowen et al, 2021).…”

“…Their short lifespan leads to a high amount of electronic waste. Due to battery degradation, LIBs only have a lifespan of 10 years (Bowen et al, 2021).…”

Radiative-cooling-based nighttime electricity generation with power density exceeding 100 mW/m2

“…Daytime energy generation, by harvesting sunlight, has made tremendous progress over the last two decades (Green et al, 2022). Meanwhile, the standard way to provide renewable energy at night is through energy storage (Bowen et al, 2021). However, in many applications, the possibilities for renewable energy generation without the need for storage are attractive in terms of reducing system complexity or cost.…”