6304 Large-Scale Energy Storage for Integration of Renewables: North American View

Friday, February 17, 2012: 1:00 PM
Room 110 (VCC West Building)
Robert B. Schainker , Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA
Energy Storage for Integration of Renewable Energy Sources into the Power Grid

by

Dr. Robert B. Schainker

Senior Technical Executive

Electric Power Research Institute

Palo Alto, CA

The current and expected future direction is presented for energy storage research, development and demonstration in terms of a North American perspective. The talk will first focus on issues that renewable technologies (e.g., wind and solar) impose on an electric grid and then a delineation will be presented of energy storage technologies that can mitigate these issues.  The paper will summarize the capital and operating costs of energy storage technologies and highlight which energy storage options are best suited for grid applications where renewable resources are increasing. One key insight discussed is the discharge time duration best suit for deployment of energy storage technologies where an electric grid has increasing amounts of renewable generators. The paper will conclude with a summary of some of the key energy storage demonstration projects being deployed to mitigate the impacts of increased renewable generation resources on the North American grid.