Study Challenges Energy Storage as Base for Renewables Deployment
Engineering360 News Desk | September 22, 2015Today’s energy policy assumes that clean renewable sources such as wind and solar require massive storage capabilities to make a dent in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from electricity generation. A new Harvard study published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science finds that clean energy supplies could increase 10 times without adding storage.
A solar power station located in Spain. Source: wikipedia.orgStudy co-author David Keith of Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Kennedy School says that such storage isn’t necessary before deploying renewables.
The study asked: In order to drastically reduce planet-warming carbon emissions from electricity generation, what amount of "bulk electricity storage" technologies that store electricity for hours at a time, such as pumped hydroelectric facilities or flow batteries, is economically efficient? Many assume that bulk storage technologies are essential in order for wind turbines and solar farms to contribute a larger share of the nation's electricity demand.
The research team concludes that storage is not the only strategy for a low-carbon electricity grid. Gas-fired turbines, for example, are cost-effective carbon mitigation candidates, given their low capital cost and good emissions performance. Zero-carbon generation technologies such as hydropower, nuclear and biomass can also be deployed instead of, or in conjunction with, the intermittent renewables, the study says.
The research team hopes that the study findings will impact R&D investment decisions and policy directions. The team concludes that electric-sector carbon emissions could be cut to less than one-third of their current levels using variable renewables with natural gas to manage the intermittency. This requires the continued growth of the electricity transmission infrastructure, they say. A trade-off also exists between transmission and storage; if siting battles stop new transmission then storage must increase, they say.
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