A review of several groundbreaking events in the Energy Storage Industry
by Andrew Crossland, Dufresne Research Analyst
Another new energy storage product made press coverage this week. The eye catcher here is the large difference in peak and off peak prices quoted in Australia, strengthening the case for arbitrage in this region. Of course if the technology were widely adopted then the difference between peak and off-peak prices may be reduced (read more).
Any alternative storage ideas are always interesting, and this post was no different. The headline “Virtual energy storage: Using buildings as batteries” is certainly captivating. The article mainly discusses thermal management, such as using low cost electricity to make ice to support air conditioning loads when needed. There is much discussion about using heat pumps off peak for the same reason in the UK; a good report by the Department of Energy and Climate discusses the issues. Over 80% of heat in the UK is generated using gas, and the system costs £33 billion a year. Nevertheless, the large seasonal demand presents a large challenge where some form of storage may be required.
It seems a regular thing to stumble upon is news about China and the market over there. This article and report describes China as a $500 million market by 2016. I don’t think anyone is surprised that China is a big market, and maybe this report can help find opportunities. UK Governments innovation funding announcement is a big piece of news. £20 million has been made available to support a competition for a large-scale demonstration project as well as research and feasibility work. It should be particularly interesting to see what projects come out of this. Details will be provided in future posts (read more).
Storage for solar is something I work on day-to-day and this article discusses batteries. However, as my recent experience in Rwanda suggests there is much more to the equation, even when recognised battery technology is used. Solar storage will play a large part in the Energy Storage Forum in Berlin and this is something I personally support.
Thank you for taking time to read my short post update. I will be writing more in two weeks time, and welcome feedback for discussion.
