Resumen de Energy storage: : an adaptable approach to managing the electricity grid

Industrial Minerals

• The deployment of renewable energy over the last decade has created unprecedented challenges for the planning and operation of power systems. Consequently, battery-storage technologies have attracted great interest, as they allow utilities and network operators to adopt a flexible and adaptable approach to managing the electricity grid.

  By Kurt Baes, Florence Carlot and Adnan Merhaba* Low-cost renewables and increased use of distributed energy generation, supported by other, flexible generation assets for when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing, are putting the electricity grid into a state of flux.

  They represent profound challenges to a grid that was built on the assumption of power being provided predominantly by large, centralised generation sources and consumed as soon as it is produced. The severe pressures on power utilities in Europe and elsewhere (and their share prices) reflect the magnitude of this transition.

  To confront the challenge of maintaining a reliable and affordable electricity supply, while also providing acceptable returns to shareholders, utilities and network operators must adapt their business models, technology portfolios, and approaches. Utilities and network operators need to become more agile, being both flexible and adaptive in how they develop, deploy and manage grid assets