New energy storage welcomes good news

What is the future of energy storage?

“The Future of Energy Storage,” a new multidisciplinary report from the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), urges government investment in sophisticated analytical tools for planning, operation, and regulation of electricity systems in order to deploy and use storage efficiently.

Why is energy storage important?

As the report details, energy storage is a key component in making renewable energy sources, like wind and solar, financially and logistically viable at the scales needed to decarbonize our power grid and combat climate change.

Why do we need a co-optimized energy storage system?

The need to co-optimize storage with other elements of the electricity system, coupled with uncertain climate change impacts on demand and supply, necessitate advances in analytical tools to reliably and efficiently plan, operate, and regulate power systems of the future.

When is long-term energy storage important?

“This is when long - term energy storage becomes crucial.” Long duration energy storage (LDES) generally refers to any form of technology that can store energy for multiple hours, days, even weeks or months, and then provide that energy when and if needed.

Does energy storage capacity cost matter?

In optimizing an energy system where LDES technology functions as “an economically attractive contributor to a lower-cost, carbon-free grid,” says Jenkins, the researchers found that the parameter that matters the most is energy storage capacity cost.

Can low-cost long-duration energy storage make a big impact?

Exploring different scenarios and variables in the storage design space, researchers find the parameter combinations for innovative, low-cost long-duration energy storage to potentially make a large impact in a more affordable and reliable energy transition.