Neil A Wilmot’s Post

I am exited to announce that ICF has published the first article of our series on Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES). With the increased use of renewable energy, there has become a reliance on energy storage to support energy intermittency and grid stabilization. LDES plays a crucial role in decarbonization by enabling smooth integration of renewable energy sources and allowing for more reliance on cleaner energy solutions. Check out this article to learn more, and thank you to Dinesh Madan, Nicholas A., and Soheb Zaidi for covering the benefits and opportunities of LDES.

Late last year, Texas topped California to become the No. 1 state for solar energy, marking a second renewable energy boom in Texas following the recent rise of wind energy. More than anywhere else in the country, Texas has capitalized on renewable energy in the past decade.

U.S. battery storage capacity could increase 89% by the end of 2024 if all of the planned energy storage systems reach commercial operation on schedule, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Developers plan to expand U.S. battery capacity to more than 30 GW by the end of 2024. Planned and currently operational U.S. utility-scale battery capacity totaled around 16 GW at the end of 2023. Battery storage in the U.S. has been growing since 2021. This is especially true in California and Texas, two states that have seen rapid renewable energy growth. California has the most installed battery storage capacity of any state with 7.3 GW, with Texas with 3.2 GW. All other states combined have a total of around of 3.5 GW of installed capacity. #california #bess #batterystorage #renewableenergy

For the second consecutive year the UK battery storage pipeline has increased by two-thirds according to @RenewableUK EnergyPulse Energy Storage report. Although RenewableUK’s director of future electricity systems Barnaby Wharton, says “While there has been significant uptake in projects, we are long way from delivering the 55 GW of short-term flexibility by 2035 that the Government says we need in its Review of Electricity Market Arrangements. We have the potential to move much faster by speeding up the process of consenting and connecting vital energy storage projects to the grid.” #energytransition #renewable

For the second consecutive year the UK battery storage pipeline has increased by two-thirds according to @RenewableUK EnergyPulse Energy Storage report. Although RenewableUK’s director of future electricity systems Barnaby Wharton, says “While there has been significant uptake in projects, we are long way from delivering the 55 GW of short-term flexibility by 2035 that the Government says we need in its Review of Electricity Market Arrangements. We have the potential to move much faster by speeding up the process of consenting and connecting vital energy storage projects to the grid.” #energytransition #renewable

☀️🔋💨California has achieved a milestone by using 100% renewable energy for at least part of the day on 100 out of the last 144 days. This achievement highlights the state's commitment to clean energy, with solar, wind, and hydro power leading the way. However, fossil fuels are still needed for backup during times of high demand, such as heatwaves. #renewables #solar #wind #electricity

Are batteries the best option for energy storage? ☀ 🌪 One of the persistent issues with renewable energy sources, such as solar photovoltaic (PV) power and wind energy systems, is that while they are abundant during daylight hours or while the wind blows, they can cause shortages of electricity after twilight or the wind drops. Storing energy when it is abundant for use later, when it is scarce, is one strategy to combat the erratic nature of wind and solar power. 💸 "Pumped hydro" is one of the technologies used to store renewable energy. Over 90% of the high capacity energy storage now in use worldwide comes from this type of energy storage. Pumped storage is helpful in regulating grid voltage and preserving power quality. Although it's a tried-and-true approach, there are issues with it. Hydro projects have strict geographic constraints, are large and costly, and have prohibitive capital expenditures. Fresh new: 🔋 One of the more obvious alternatives for energy storage is a battery. Lithium-ion batteries are currently the preferred choice. Globally, utilities have increased their energy storage capacity by employing li-ion supersized batteries, massive packs with a 100–800 MW energy storage capacity. With a total capacity of 750 MW/3 000 MWh, the energy storage plant at Moss Landing, located in California, is among the largest in the world. Furthermore, their price has tremendously fallen over the last few years and they have been able to store ever-larger amounts of energy.  The race is on for the next generation of batteries. While there are yet no standards for these new batteries, they are expected to emerge, when the market will require them. GreenHarbour Anthony Goossens Muskaan Batta Gregor Feller Source: pv-magazine #renewables #solar #pv #wind #battery #lithium

Energy Vault Holdings, a developer of sustainable, grid-scale energy storage solutions, and ACEN Australia have entered into contractual agreements for two battery energy storage system (BESS) deployments totaling 400 MWh at ACEN's 720 MW New England Solar project near Uralla, Australia. Both deployments are expected to begin construction in the second half of 2024, and commercial operations are anticipated to start in 2025 and 2026. As per the agreement, Energy Vault will deploy a 50 MW/100 MWh BESS and a 150 MW/300 MWh BESS at the project - one of the solar projects to participate in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM). The BESS will be charged and discharged daily and dispatch stored renewable energy at peak consumption hours to help meet the high demand during New South Wales’ peak load hours, thereby reducing the region’s dependency on coal-fired power generation. The BESS deployments, developed under Energy Vault’s B-VAULT suite of fully integrated battery energy storage solutions, will be joined by a Siemens S120 inverter. The inverter helps provide advanced grid support functionalities such as voltage and frequency ride-through, grid support during disturbances, and reactive power control. The Siemens S120 inverter, Energy Vault’s X-Vault integration platform, and Vault-OS Energy Management System will deliver superior energy management capabilities. They will control, manage, and optimize the BESS operations. The New England BESS project is supported by the NSW Government’s Emerging Energy Program and is part of ACEN’s broader strategy in Australia, where they are developing over 1 GW of projects. The project completed Stage 1 of construction in 2023 when 400MW of solar generation was officially brought online. Once Stage 2 is completed, the site will generate 1,800 GWh of renewable electricity annually. ACEN Australia secured a 20-year Long-Term Energy Service Agreement (LTESA) for the project at the NSW Government’s first renewable energy and storage auction. The LTESA is a risk management mechanism to support the project in the future if the National Electricity Market experiences a sustained period of low prices. To save energy & cost for your business, contact me at https://buff.ly/2EjAMbu. #Reliability #EnergyStorage #EnergyEfficiency #Renewables #EnergyAudit #Procurement #Resilience https://buff.ly/4bxQDPU

https://lnkd.in/gum6KRvc It will be fun to follow this bulk energy storage project. I have for some time wondered what the US will do with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when we transition to all renewable? Should we consider a Strategic Renewable Energy Reserve as a replacement? And if, so could the effort be used to bring up some of the needed technology to scale faster? We should at least model the scenario and make a conscious decision and plan it in time if we are going to need a Strategic Renewable Energy Reserve.

As renewable energy surges, utilities face a renewable integration ceiling due to the intermittent nature of wind and solar power and the lack of a viable large-scale, long-duration energy storage solution #InvestingInvolvesRisk