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New and improved grid-scale energy storage technologies are gaining popularity. Pumped hydro storage is efficient, but installations are expensive and time-consuming to build. Lithium-ion batteries are common in small applications, but building large-scale lithium-ions remains prohibitively expensive. Ultracapacitors and flow batteries have their niche uses. And some cutting-edge solutions aggregate many small amounts of storage, whether from electric vehicle batters, uninterruptible power supplies, or the thermal storage embodied in water heaters. Scroll down for insight into this important sector.
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Energy storage is one of the most important smart grid technologies. But where should testing and verification be done? Answer: very big buildings, because at those locations technologies can be tested at grid scale.
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The profile of grid-scale energy storage seems to be changing constantly. In one of the most current examples, a Berlin-based microgrid vendor has deployed a multi-purpose "battery park" in Germany's capital city for a Swedish utility and plans to deploy another next year.
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Lux Research is forecasting stunning growth for the grid energy storage market, even after a long stretch of setbacks. The firm also recommends that now is the time for storage companies to partner up with deep-pocket partners. It's also good advice for utilities looking for vendors.
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Portland General Electric recently unveiled its 5-megawatt lithium-ion battery energy storage system designed to test a variety of smart grid technologies, including energy storage, renewable energy integration and dispatchable standby generation. Click inside for the details.
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Both chambers of Congress have introduced bills that would allow investment tax credits for a broad array of energy storage projects – similar to the wind production tax credit. Read the story and weigh in with your thoughts on tax credit pluses and minuses.
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The announcement by AES Energy Storage of its new "operating system" for energy storage pledges that it gives utilities the ability to wring maximum performance and efficiency out of their installations without being tied to one type of technology. The AES system also allows utilities to customize their storage systems for different uses – and that means multiple value streams.
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Is the smart grid initiative on the verge of a major transformation? Read the story to find out why a leading manufacturing company's CEO thinks the time is right for the electric industry to merge with other sectors to meet challenges of grid modernization like intermittent renewables and energy storage.
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Practical, cost-effective energy storage is one of the holy grails in the smart grid sector, but the way different regions approach solutions is very different. In Asia, notably China, universities are heavily relied on for R&D contributions, unlike Europe and the Americas, says a new report from Lux Research.
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A new report from a market research firm forecasts that the grid-scale energy storage market will blast off and grow nearly 4,000% by 2017. We're all for optimism and agree that energy storage is on a growth path. But 4,000% growth in four years? Click to see what you make of it.
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A review of the global energy storage market by GBI Research forecasts steady growth through 2020, which is probably driven by continuing smart grid infrastructure initiatives, increasing energy demand, more government support and a steady stream of technological advances.
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Two scientists from the University of Calgary are claiming they may have found the elusive energy storage breakthrough in the form of an electrolyzer that could be both more efficient and less expensive than current methods. Click to see if you think they're onto something big.
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We've worried that utilities are giving too much of their operations away to outside companies that handle renewables, energy efficiency and other programs for them. So we were glad to see that a Montana electric cooperative is taking a different approach. Click for details on Flathead Electric's customer partnership on energy storage.
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We call storage the game-changer and we bemoan the high cost of batteries, pumped hydro and other techniques. A story on a new electric "storage heater" introduced in the UK has us wondering why the electric power industry isn't doing more with thermal storage.
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As this video details, PG&E is on the forefront of testing applications for smaller-scale storage such as batteries. The utility recently deployed a two-megawatt sodium-sulfur battery pilot project at its Vaca Dixon substation to test potential applications of energy storage on the grid. is also installing a four-megawatt battery at the end of a distribution feeder in San Jose, to test applications including improving service reliability and power quality to customers.
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Former utility executive and current consultant Peter Kelly-Detwiler used his Forbes column to make an important point - that the smartest way to approach storage is to focus on the software and be agnostic to the battery technology itself.
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