There’s more to energy than what we use in our homes and businesses. When it comes to managing the energy that flows through the grid and powers hundreds of properties in the process, certain additional fail-safes are necessary. Grid energy storage is just one way that a power grid can maintain consistency, ensuring continual access to power around the clock without any downtime.
Grid energy storage is an essential part of grid management, providing the flexibility and functionality needed to meet the ever-changing energy generation process. By what is it, and what makes it so vitally important? Read on to find out more about what grid energy storage is and how it provides an important service in electrical grids across the US.
What is grid energy storage?
Grid energy storage refers to methods used to store energy within the wider electricity grid. Typically using high-volume batteries, grid energy storage offers an effective way to save power that may otherwise have been wasted. Through battery storage, you can also return energy to the grid when the current amount of power available does not account for demand. In essence, grid energy storage is a temporary place to keep energy before being used again.
Why do we need grid energy storage?
Grid energy storage is a vital part of the grid management system and plays a significant role. Throughout the day and night, the grid experiences highs and lows in energy usage. For example, 6 pm may be a time of high energy usage, while 4 am would be low usage. It doesn’t make sense for consistent energy to be in the grid at both times, as there may be too little at 6 pm and too much at 4 am. Grid energy storage works to prevent wastage and prevent shortages.
There are two specific reasons why grid energy storage is so important. These are:
Demand-based storage
As mentioned above, the usage of the power grid isn’t equal at all times. Having a store of ‘spare’ energy allows you to add more power when needed, as well as efficiently store power that’s going unused. To meet demand, whether it’s low or high, grid storage batteries play an integral role in keeping everything flowing as it should.
Renewable energy and grid storage
With solar and wind energy, there’s no such thing as consistent generation. Anything from poor weather to seasonal changes can influence the amount of energy flowing into the grid. As such, it’s important to be able to save energy from high-generation times, ready to make up for the deficit in low-generation periods. Grid batteries provide this flexibility.
How has grid energy storage evolved?
With the introduction of decentralized energy and renewable energy, there’s more of a need for a flexible, versatile grid than ever before. More powerful and effective batteries help evolve the power grid, making it best-suited for power generation that’s much more up and down than ever before. With greater capacity and far less wastage, modern grid batteries are a powerful and essential addition to any grid system.