10 Reasons Why Energy Storage Is Essential In The 21st Century

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Energy usage and how it is stored are two of the major topics on the lips of governments and businesses around the world. 

It is clear that more and more power will be consumed as the years go by, which means that it is imperative that energy storage facilities are up to scratch. 

1. Put simply, extra power is going to be needed over the coming decades because of the world's growing energy demand. This is fuelled by everything from the use of basic home appliances such as televisions and lights, to manufacturing and industrial plants needing resources to run their operations. Writing for PACW.org, Francois L'homme, from Schneider Electric, said that a 200 per cent increase in electricity demand will be seen between now and 2050, with the world's population reaching nine billion.

2. Fossil fuels will eventually run out. By their very definition, resources such as coal, oil and uranium will not be around forever, and could even be out of the energy mix within the next 60 years, according to Mr L'homme. This means that a future needs to be planned without these fuels, and much of this will rely on storage.

3. Use of storage systems can help to harness green energy, thus reducing harmful air emissions. However, Chris Shelton, president of AES Energy Storage, told EnergyBiz.com that prices do need to come down if the technology is to become more commonly used. "Energy storage costs now relative to what it may cost 20 years from now is not a fair metric. There are opportunities to create value today and we are pursuing those but, technically speaking, we need no additional performance," he observed.

4. Producing too much energy could lead to a loss of money for power companies if they cannot store it. This was backed up in Germany last year, when constant 15mph winds led to the country's 21,600 windmills generating too much power. It led to suppliers like EON having to pay customers to take it off the grid for them. Bloomberg said that this incident was not a one-off, and it was the 31^st hour of 2011 where supply outdid demand and money was lost.

5. More and more money is being ploughed into low-carbon energy, which means that storage needs to be up to scratch. In February 2012, it was announced that Ofgem would be bringing forward its £7 billion plan to upgrade Scotland's grid, thus making it more capable of harnessing additional renewable energy projects.

6. Electricity is often generated a long way from where it is most needed; in cities. However, energy storage facilities provide an answer to this, which is why the market could reach €500 billion (£417 billion) by 2030. Jillis Raadschelders, vice president of the European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE), told BusinessGreen.com that sustainability and stability are key to energy supply. "There are several options to maintain this, of which energy storage is one," he added.

7. An opportunity exists to make energy storage systems a common feature of the grid. Mr Raadschelders believes that these facilities are "the new kid on the energy block for the utility world", and told the source that they are both a generator and a load. "EASE is trying to promote both the funding of technological development as well as creating a level playing field for energy storage," he added.

8. Energy demand changes depending on the time of the year, with more people turning up the heating during cold winters, however, supply is not always available at these crucial points. One option investigated in 2010 by the Energy Technologies Institute was to use aquifers and disused mines to store waste heat from power stations, which could then be released in the winter when it was most needed.

9. Energy efficiency could be boosted for both utilities and consumers through the use of smart grids. These systems are bringing electricity facilities into the 21^st century, according to the Office of Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability, and work through two-way communication and computer processing, which allows for the gathering of data and automation control over millions of devices from one place.

10. Electric and hybrid cars could be the future, and energy will be needed for these vehicles to work. Governments have been plugging such machines, but storage is a major barrier in the road, both in terms of inside the car and at 'filling stations'. In the UK, motorists can apply for the Department for Transport plug-in car grant, while other reductions are also made available for those choosing to go green.