Unit – 1 INTRODUCTION
Necessity for Energy Storage – Types of
Energy Storage – Comparison of
Energy Storage Technologies –
Applications.
Energy storage
• Energy storage is the process of accumulating energy in particular
equipment or systems so that it can be used at a later time as needed.
• Energy is useful only if available when and where it is wanted.
Carrying energy to where it is wanted is called distribution; keeping it
available until when it is wanted is called storage.
Necessity for Energy Storage
• Storing energy in a readily recoverable form when the supply exceeds the demand for
use at other times.
• Storage of primary fuels (eg. Coal, oil and gas) is a form of energy storage, but the
term generally applies to actual energy and to secondary fuels rather than to primary
fuels.
• This helps companies and sectors save energy and use it when the demand increases
or grid outages occur.
• Thus energy storage maintains the supply-demand balance for consumers at all times
and prevents challenges such as inconsistent power and sudden price surges.
• The effective utilization of intermittent and variable energy sources such as solar
and wind energy, often requires energy storage.
• If the intermittent energy is converted into electricity, as it is with solar
photovoltaic cells and in most cases of wind energy utilization, electrical energy
in excess of the demand might be fed directly into a utility grid.
• If it is not possible, some form of energy storage would be required.
• Furthermore, where solar is used to produce steam in generating electricity,
thermal (heat) energy storage is necessary for continuous operation.
• Storage of thermal energy is also desirable when solar energy is used for space
and water heating.
• In some circumstances, electricity may be generated, either on land or at sea,
at a location that is too distant from a load(or consumption) centre for
conventional transmission lines to be used. Eg. ocean thermal energy
conversion.
• Means must then be found for both storing the energy and transporting it
economically to a load centre.
• Electrically propelled vehicles, which are expected to come into increasing
use, require some form of energy storage.
• Since the vehicle must carry its energy supply, equivalent to the gasoline in
the conventional automobile, the storage system should be readily
transportable.
• Electric utilities generally useless efficient (intermediate and peaking)
units, in addition to the more efficient base load equipment, to meet
the additional demand for power during the daytime.
• With the availability of energy storage facilities, however, the less
efficient units can be eliminated.
• The most efficient plants are operated continuously at the optimum
(or rated) power level, excess electrical energy generated at night and
during weekends is stored for use when the demand exceeds the
base load. This procedure, called load levelling, can reduce the overall
cost of generating electrical power.
• Renewable energy supplies have different requirements for storage
and distribution than do fossil or nuclear energy supplies.
• In particular the low intensity and wide distribution of renewable
sources favour decentralized end-use.
• Therefore energy from renewable sources will often not require much
further distribution since the sources are already distributed.
• However, some renewable sources can fruitfully be harnessed in a
moderately centralized manner (Eg. Large hydroelectric scheme).
• Since use of renewable energy supplies constitutes a diversion of a
continuing natural flow of energy, there are problems in matching
supply and demand in the time domain, i.e. in matching the rate at
which energy is used.
• This varies with time on scales of months (eg. House heating in
temperature climates), days (eg. Artificial lighting) and even seconds (eg.
Starting motors).
• In contrast to fossil fuels and nuclear power, the initial input power of
renewable energy sources is outside our control.
• We have the choice of either matching the load to the availability of
renewable energy supply, or storing the energy for future use.
Types of Energy Storage
• Methods for energy storage may be classified according to the form in
which energy is stored. The following categories are,
Mechanical Energy Storage
• Pumped hydroelectric storage – It is an indirect
method for temporarily storing substantial amounts
of electrical energy by pumping water from a lower
to a higher level.
• When the power demand exceeds the supply, the
water is allowed to flow back down through a
hydraulic turbine which drives an electric generator.
• The overall efficiency to pump the water that is
recovered as electrical energy, is about 70%.
• Compressed air storage – Compressed air
energy storage compresses and stores air
in reservoirs, aquifiers, or caverns.
• The stored energy is then released during
periods of peak demand by expansion of
the air through an air turbine.
• The overall recovery efficiency is
estimated to be about 65 to 75 %.
• Flywheel – It is referred to as “super flywheel”, is to
accelerate a suitably designed physical rotor to a very high
speed in a vaccum, as via an electric motor, at which state
high energy storage densities are achieved.
• The energy is stored as kinetic energy most of which can be
electrically retrived when the flywheel is run as a generator,
(armature is rotated by the flywheel).
• The energy recovery efficiency is estimated to be upto 90%.
Chemical Energy Storage
• Hydrogen – Hydrogen can provide the fuel
for a gas (combustion) turbine which in turn
drives a generator.
• Storage as metal hydrides from which the
hydrogen can be released by heating.
• Ammonia – Collectors with concentrators
can achieve temperatures high enough to
operate a heat engine at reasonable
efficiency, which can be used to generate
electricity.
• Reversible chemical reactions – It is one that proceed simultaneously
in both directions.
• The forward reaction takes place with absorption of heat from heat
source (solar energy), and the heat is stored in the form of products.
• When heat is desired, the products are to be remixed to allow the
reversible reaction to take place with liberation of heat.
• Both forward and reverse reactions take place at constant but
different temperatures, the forward reaction occurring at a higher
temperature
Reaction than the reverse
Forward reaction.
reaction (°C) Reverse reaction Energy stored per unit vol. of
(°C) storage material KJ/m3
780 610 209.4
Electro-chemical energy storage
• Batteries - Batteries are electrochemical devices where each
battery cell consists of two electrodes and an electrolyte
between them.
• Supercapacitor - Similar to a battery, a supercapacitor also has
electrodes with an electrolyte inbetween. The dominant
principle of electrical energy storage is, however, charge
separation is of very small distance resulting discharging is
much faster and not as in the case of a battery
• Fuel cell - a fuel cell is never discharged, but generates a current
and voltage as long as (hydrogen) fuel and oxygen are supplied.
Biological Storage
• The growth of plants by photosynthesis, and the storage of the
solar energy in oxygen. This energy is released in the combustion
of biological and fossil fuel material.
• We may therefore consider the energy as stored in the material
itself, although strictly this is not correct.
• Some of the biofuels are liquids and gases that may be used in
internal combustion engines, and are therefore important for
transport in place of conventional petroleum fuels and also for
generation of electricity by such fuels in small diesel engines.
Magnetic Energy Storage
• The concept is based on the principle that energy can be
stored in the magnetic field associated with a coil.
• If the coil is made of a material in a superconducting state, i.e.
maintained at a temperature below its critical temperature,
then once it is charged, the current will not decay and the
magnetic energy can be stored indefinitely.
• The stored energy can be released back to the network by
discharging the coil.
• If maintained below this critical temperature (-273°C to -
150°C) a superconducting metal can carry strong electric
current with little or no loss. Superconducting materials –
niobium titanium (-263°C), Niobium and tin (-255°C).
Thermal Energy Storage
• Sensible thermal storage - Sensible heat is the heat that causes an
object's temperature to change.
• It includes storing heat in liquids such as molten salts and in solids
such as concrete blocks, rocks, or sand-like particles.
• it is used mainly for residential hot water tanks, space heating and
as heat storage systems (molten salt) for solar thermal power
plants
• Latent heat storage – It involves storing heat in a phase-change
material that utilizes the large latent heat of phase change during
melting of a solid to a liquid.
• It facilitates cooling by absorbing heat during processes like
condensation.
70
Power Discharge Self Storage Energy Power Life Cycle life $/kW $/kWh
Rating Time discharge Duration Density Density time (Cycles) (Capital (Capital
/ day (Wh/kg) (W/kg) (yrs) cost) cost)
PHES 100-5000 1-24 hrs + Very Small Hours- 0.5-1.5 40- 600- 5-100
MW Months 60 2000
CAES 5-300 1-24 hrs + Small Hours- 30-60 20- 400-800 2-50
MW Months 40
Flywheel 0-250 Milliseconds – 100 % Seconds- 10-30 400- ~15 20,000 + 250-350 1000-
kW 15 min Minutes 1500 5000
Batteries 0-40 Seconds – 0.1-20 % Minutes- 30-3000 75-315 5-20 500- 150- 100-
MW 24 hrs + Months 12000+ 4000 2500
Fuel cells 0-50 Seconds – Almost Hours- 800- 500 + 5-15 1000+ 10,000 +
MW 24 hrs + zero Months 10,000
SMES 100 kW- Milliseconds – 10-15% Minutes- 0.5-5 500- 20+ 100,000 200-300 1000-
10 MW 8 sec Hours 2000 + 10,000
Super 0-300 Milliseconds – 20-40% Seconds- 2.5-15 500- 20+ 100,000 100-300 300-
Capacitor kW 60 min Hours 5000 + 2000
Thermal 0-60 1-24hrs + 0.05-1% Minutes- 80-200 5-20 20-60
MW Months
Advantages Disadvantages Applications
- Mature Technology - Limited location - Energy Management
- Can feed the grid at - Destruction of trees and - System Back-up
PHES peak times green land for building
the reservoirs - Seasonal reserve
- Long term energy
generation - Long construction time - Frequency control
- Low fuel cost - Low energy density - Power generation
- High capital cost
- Low efficiency
- Slow response time
Advantages Disadvantages Applications
- Large storage - Geological requirement - Energy Management
capability - High investment cost - System Back-up
- Long life (reservoir, - Emissions from combustion - Seasonal reserve
compressor, turbine) of natural gas - Renewable integration
- Small footprint on - Difficulty in storing - Load levelling
CAES surface compressed air - Storing Electrical
(underground - Low efficiency Energy
storage) - Slow response time
- Can feed the grid at - Adverse impact on the
peak times environment
- Midterm energy
production
- Low fuel cost
Advantages Disadvantages Applications
- High growth - Tensile strength of - Power generation
potential rotor is a limitation - Load levelling and
- Modular - High frictional losses regulation
technology - Cannot store energy - Regulation of frequency
- Vast life cycle for long period - UPS
Flywheel - Rapid response - Low energy density - Power quality
- High peak power - Big noise - Peak shaving
- High energy - Transient stability
efficiency - Electric utility peaking
- Instantaneous units (Smoothing demand)
power - Vehicle propulsion
Advantages Disadvantages Applications
- Low first installation cost - High level harm on - Power generation
- Easy to obtain environment - Load levelling and
- Short term supply fort the - High cost of production regulation
grid and scalability - Grid stabilization
- Mature technology - High sensitive to - Power quality
Batteries - High recycled content temperature, charge and - Congestion relief
- High charge efficiency pressure - Renewable source
- Long storage life - Issues with containment integration
- High energy density of liquid - Frequency
- Long discharge cycles - Electrode corrosion regulation
- Fast response limits life - Ramping
- Light weight - Design complications - Peak shaving
- Small self-discharge - Immature large scale - Backup power
- High efficiency mass production - Transportation
Advantages Disadvantages Applications
- Environmental - High first installation cost - Power generation
Fuel cell friendly - High fuel cost
- Short term supply fort the grid - Transportation
- Low efficiency
- Regulating - Minimal period of supply fort - Power generation
frequency and the grid - Power quality
SMES voltage of the grid - Complex facility structure for - Frequency
- High conversion the first installation regulation
efficiency - Low energy density - Voltage support
- Fast response - High manufacturing costs - Power
- Big specific power - Difficult maintenance compensation
- System stability
improvement
Advantages Disadvantages Applications
- Simple installation - Minimal period of - Short term
- Run in variety of environments supply fort the grid - High power load
Super- - Regulating frequency and - High costs smoothness
voltage of the grid - Low energy density - Power quality
capacitor - Long cycle life - High self-discharge - Frequency
- Fast charge & discharge rate regulation
- High efficiency - Low cell voltage
- High power density - Linear voltage drop
- Virtually unlimited life cycles
- Long shell life
- Wide temperature operation
range
- Safety
Advantages Disadvantages Applications
- Load levelling and regulation
Thermo- - High energy density - High costs
chemical - Grid stabilization
- Heating and Cooling
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