Energy storage is becoming a dominant factor in the policy of the american Energy Department.

In the Energy Department’s Grid Energy Storage report release by Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz  and submitted to the U.S Senate, we come to know that currently the U.S. have 24.6 GW of accumulation, approximately 2.3% of the total electrical power available, 95% of this in hydroelectric pumped storage, but intend to increase effortson this way.

Moreover, in the report, the Energy Department, which is pushing for the deployment of accumulation, gives an overview of the state and the benefits of the eletrical energy storage. It also explains the obstacles to the development of storage and how to overcome them.

First of all, there are four challenges that must be overcome to ensure the emergence of the real potential of electrical energy storage :

• bring down costo;

• the safety and reliability of the technologies to be certified;

• the rules to be written

• acceptance by the industry.

The growing use of renewable power generation is the key of this new interest and need for energy storage in the electric network.

The Senator Ron Wyden, who have commissioned the report, said that he “is working to find ways to implement the DOE’s recommendations to make energy storage an integral part of our country’s electricity grid.”

Furthermore, this energy’s accumulation will lead to the construction of new power lines or replacement of existing waste that allow you to avoid congestion andreducing network losses.

More than the ability to integrate larger amounts of electricity from renewable non-programmabile, the benefits of that storage could contemplete also the electrification of transport. But not only electric vehicles may have benefits also car batteries, when they have to be replaced, can maybe find a second life in stationary applications at the service of the network.

Thanks to this storage report, developed by the Energy Department, various activities have been identified and they will bring changes above:

• Resolving economic and performance barriers and also creating analytical tools for design, manufacturing, innovation and deployment;

• Improve R&D, set up standard testing protocols, independent testing, and control the performance of installed sistemi;

• conducting public-private evaluations of grid benefits, scout technology-neutral mechanisms for monetizing grid service;

• field trials and demonstrations and use of industry-accepted planning and operational tools to incorporate storage in to the grid can encourage industry acceptance

PVCompare Team