Green Energy and Recycling

Energy Network

Grid energy storage (also called large-scale energy storage) refers to the methods used to store electricity on a large scale within an electrical power grid. Electrical energy is stored during times when production (from power plants especially intermittent renewable electricity sources such as wind power, tidal power, solar power) exceeds consumption and when additional discretionary load is turned on but consumption is still insufficient to absorb it. Micro-grids are autonomous grids that operate either in parallel to, or ‘islanded’ from, existing utility power grids. They have the power to efficiently and flexibly meet the growing energy demand of communities: whether they are grid-connected or not. Microgrids allow for fast installation of electricity supply without the need for expensive transmission infrastructure investments and the lengthy development approval and construction process. This will especially empower remote, non-grid-connected communities around the world. Although on a system-wide level RE power plants generate electricity just like any other power plants, RE power has quite distinctive characteristics in generation, transmission and operation technology when compared to conventional generation. Understanding these distinctive characteristics and their interaction with the other parts of the power system is the basis for the integration of large-capacity RE power in the grid. Integrating more large-capacity RE into the grid brings variability and uncertainty. At the same time, there will continue to be unexpected disturbances stemming from load variation, grid faults and conventional generation outages. Worldwide studies and experience in recent years have shown that new technical solutions are needed to address this conjunction of difficulties. The novel solutions will include new technologies, methods and practices, applied in order to provide more flexibility and improve the efficiency of power systems, constantly balancing generation and load. Only this will make the power systems reliable and maintain security of supply, i.e. avoid any interruption in the supply of power energy storage is economical when the marginal cost of electricity varies more than the costs of storing and retrieving the energy plus the price of energy lost in the process.