Facebook Twitter Linkedin

  • Home
  • News Center
    • Latest News
    • Events
  • Publications
  • Education
    • Education Home
    • Calculation Examples
    • Online Historical Database of Civil Infrastructure
  • Networking
  • Jobs
  • Software
  • Maps
  • Advertising Services
  • Home
  • News Center
  • Latest News
  • News on Research / Academia
  • Energy storage could take renewable technology to a whole new level …

Energy storage could take renewable technology to a whole new level …

Written by  TheCivilEngineer.org
Published in News on Research / Academia
Energy storage could take renewable technology to a whole new level …
04
July

Storage systems can make economic sense for renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, according to new research.

The renewable energy sector (mainly wind and solar industry) has grown rapidly in recent years, but its future growth will depend on whether it can compete with alternatives that provide high-value energy on demand. This could be achieved with the installation of large-scale energy storage systems that can capture power when it’s available and release it on demand. But still, in which investments are they really needed and which storage technology is appropriate? MIT scientists formulated a method to evaluate diverse storage technologies with varying performance and set cost improvement targets.

‘Researchers and practitioners have struggled to compare the costs of different [energy] storage technologies, because of the multiple dimensions of cost and the fact that no technology dominates along all dimensions’, says Jessika Trancik, the Atlantic Richfield Career Development Assistant Professor of Energy Studies at MIT. ‘Storage technologies can only be compared by looking at the contexts in which they are going to be used (…) The overall idea is to use data and models to accelerate energy technology development’.

The study, published last month in the journal Nature Climate Change, shows that some storage technologies of today can add value to solar and wind energy, but cost reduction is needed to reach widespread profitability. The best cost-improvement practices, balancing energy and power costs to maximize value, are found to be relatively location invariant, and thus can define broad industry and government technology development strategies. And regardless of the particular circumstances at a given location, some specific types of storage solutions overmatch others, due to the fact that certain features of how electricity prices fluctuate are common across locations. According to the study though, the costs of such systems nowadays don’t yet make them profitable enough without policy support, so their popularity remains low. And, of course, as the cost of wind and solar power systems comes down, the cost of storage systems will need to come down as well in order for them to be effective.

Source: MIT News

 

More in this category: « Offshore wind sector costs could be reduced by 40% in 10 years’ time according to new Dutch research A new plastic material that vibrates under sunlight: is this the future of solar panels? »
Read 1612 times Last modified on Monday, 04 July 2016 16:08
  • Social sharing:
  • Add to Facebook
  • Add to Delicious
  • Digg this
  • Add to StumbleUpon
  • Add to Technorati
  • Add to Reddit
  • Add to MySpace
  • Like this? Tweet it to your followers!
Tagged under
  • Environmental Engineer
  • renewable energy
  • energy storage
  • energy storage systems
  • MIT

Latest from TheCivilEngineer.org

  • Challenges for sustainable road networks in UK
  • Different urbanization patterns in large cities worldwide
  • Recycled aggregate concrete as an alternative to conventional concrete
  • Remarkable underwater tunnel featuring stunning roundabout in Faroe Islands
  • Crane collapses onto a building in London

Related items

  • Bricks turned into energy storing devices
  • World's wind power capacity increased by a record 19% in 2019
  • Scientists develop solar panels that can produce energy during the night
  • Floating hotels project for 2022 Qatar Football World Cup
  • Heat produced by an underground line to warm houses in London
back to top
Place your ad here - Reach throusands of Proffesionals!

Search News

Filter By Category

More News On

bridge China Climate Change Earthquake Environmental Engineer Infrastructure Landslide Newsletter Structural engineer USA

Facebook Twitter Youtube Linkedin

Sign up for our newsletters

Our Resources

Contribute

Services

Advertising Kit 2020

Contact Us

Copyright © 2002-2021 Elxis s.a.
Powered by ARGO-E LLC. All rights reserved.
Disclaimer - Copyrights & Permissions - Cookies

TheCivilEngineer.org uses third party cookies to improve our website and your experience when using it.

To find out more about the cookies we use and how to delete them visit our Cookies page. Learn more

I understand
Latest News