Building wind and solar farms is important, but a calm night stops their energy generation cold. According to a new report from MIT, green energy storage is just as important as research and building it.
The future of energy storage is part of a series looking at the transition of power sources in America, and it is relevant given the current popularity of solar and wind. Too much renewable energy sounds like a good problem to have, but if it can't be relied on as a city or region's main or only source of electricity, they're going to feel the need to hedge their bets
When the sun is out and the wind is high, batteries can be run off at other times. It isn't a big deal, but the study shows that what battery capacity we have isn't nearly enough. We will need to increase it by an order of magnitude across the country, but not every country is prepared to do so.
Storage facilities don't make money while wind farms and solar make money They are not the easy money that solar farms have become. pumped hydro is one of the most expensive and limited green energy storage options. The most widely used technologies, like batteries, are not capacious or organized enough to serve as a grid supplement.
The Department of Energy needs to step in here. The federal government is able to subsidize the use of existing storage options and fund intensive research into new ones. The report states that a hydrogen energy storage system won't be able to fund itself. It needs to be paid for up front by the feds and then paid off over time.
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It isn't just about checks. It will be necessary for the DOE to evaluate the feasibility of doing things like repurposing old infrastructure like power plants, reuse their connections to the grid, and build new communities around them. If coal plants were converted into hydrogen ionizing centers, the jobs would still be there.
The cost of the energy itself is a topic of discussion. The report warns that even with adequate storage, the cost of power would not be the same as it is now. Peak power could be twice as expensive as off-peak power in 10 years. Peak power might be more expensive than the low-end cost.
Consumers shouldn't have to worry about whether running the dishwasher will cost them a penny or a buck. Smart modeling of cost and supply issues should be used to provide consistency for consumers and payback for electricity generators.
The US is at a good point for the feds to step in and if they do so it will be watched closely by other countries. India is facing a growing power and emissions crisis, and the U.S. may be a good testbed for proving out technologies that could serve their larger population.
The executive summary and full report can be found at the report page.
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