TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT NEEDS FOR INTEGRATED GRID-CONNECTED PV SYSTEMS AND ELECTRIC ENERGY STORAGE

Swati Sharma, Manish Kumar, Rohan Chaudhary
unpublished
Modernizing the electric system will help the nation meet the challenge of handling projected energy needs-including addressing climate change by integrating more energy from renewable sources and enhancing efficiency from non-renewable energy processes. Advances to the electric grid must maintain a robust and resilient electricity delivery system, and energy storage can play a significant role in meeting these challenges by improving the operating capabilities of the grid, lowering cost and
more » ... uring high reliability, as well as deferring and reducing infrastructure investments. Finally, energy storage can be instrumental for emergency preparedness because of its ability to provide backup power as well as grid stabilization services. At present, the U.S. has about 24.6 GW (approx. 2.3% of total electric production capacity) of grid storage, 95% of which is pumped storage hydro.1 Europe and Japan have notably higher fractions of grid storage. Pursuit of a clean energy future is motivating significantly increased storage development efforts in Europe and Asia, as well as the U.S. Energy storage technologies-such as pumped hydro, compressed air energy storage, various types of batteries, flywheels, electrochemical capacitors, etc., provide for multiple applications: energy management, backup power, load leveling, frequency regulation, voltage support, and grid stabilization. Importantly, not every type of storage is suitable for every type of application, motivating the need for a portfolio strategy for energy storage technology. This paper summarizes the status of various storage technologies in the context of PV system integration, addressing applications, benefits, costs, and technology limitations. It then discusses further research and development needs, with an emphasis on new models, systems analysis tools, and even business models for high penetration of PV-storage systems on a national scale.
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