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At the Silicon Valley Energy Storage Symposium and Technology Showcase on January 20 in Sunnyvale, CA about 100 people attended to discuss energy storage technologies and the challenges we face.
Organized by Joint Venture of Silicon Valley, the symposium brought together key public officials, private sector leaders, academia and research participants whom engage in a discussion of the future of energy storage. For additional information about Joint Venture’s work and events, go to the last section of this article.
Storage technologies are an important element of the smart grid. In his keynote address, Brad Roberts presented ‘Electricity storage – Optimizing the use of renewable energy’.
Brad Roberts is the Power Quality Systems Director for S & C Electric Company and Executive Director of the Electricity Storage Association (ESA). In 2008, Mr. Roberts also lead the Electricity Advisory Committee - Energy Storage Technologies Subcommittee - at the US Department of Energy.
Mr. Roberts said that two huge industries, the utility and automotive, are in the process of transformation where energy storage is the problem as well as the solution for both. “Storage is one of a set of new resources and technologies that will facilitate a smarter grid. More bulk and distributed storage will help balance demand and bulk-power resources and dealing with transmission constraints,” he said. Both of the above industries will benefit from acceleration of battery technology development.
Roberts talked about the dilemma electricity storage creates: on one hand, existing storage programs have been successful, key to productivity, and are a driver in the consumer electronics industry (i.e. batteries in handheld devices as cell-phones, portable media players, portable game consoles, etc). However, moving electricity storage to the utility grid is viewed as expensive and unnecessary.
Roberts defined Electricity Storage as the process of using grid power to transform electricity to a storage media for release back to electricity when needed.
New Utility of the Future volume provides first comprehensive roadmap for wide-scale utility application
BURLINGTON, Mass., (January 7, 2010) – KEMA www.kema.com today released the first independent guidebook on integrating wide-scale energy storage in the electric power infrastructure. Volume two of KEMA’s Utility of the Future series, "The Promise of Energy Storage," explores the issues and questions surrounding the rapidly advancing technology. The guidebook provides a broad assessment of the electricity storage field and the latest thinking about applications. It also describes how to assess when there is a good business case for storage and when there is not—and examines the implications of including storage in grid design and operation, the economics of storage, and the policy issues being raised.
Read the full release:
An Energy Subcommittee Hearing was held on Tuesday to receive testimony on the following bills: H.R. 957, Green Energy Education Act of 2009; H.R. 2729, To authorize the designation of National Environmental Research Parks by the Secretary of Energy, and for other purposes; H.R. 3165, Wind Energy Research and Development Act of 2009; H.R. 3246, Advanced Vehicle Technology Act of 2009; H.R. 3585, Solar Technology Roadmap Act; S. 737, A bill to amend the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to authorize the Secretary of Energy to conduct research, development, and demonstration to make biofuels more compatible with small non-road engines, and for other purposes; S. 1617, To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish a program for the award of grants to States to establish revolving loan funds for small and medium-sized manufacturers to improve energy efficiency and produce clean energy technology, and for other purposes; S. 2744, A bill to amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to expand the authority for awarding technology prizes by the Secretary of Energy to include a financial award for separation of carbon dioxide from dilute sources; and S. 2773, A bill to require the Secretary of Energy to carry out a program to support the research, demonstration, and development of commercial applications for offshore wind energy, and for other purposes (Hearing Room SD-366).
The rapidly growing interest in storing energy in the electric grid was confirmed by the large increase in attendance at the 19th Annual Meeting of the Electricity Storage Association in Washington, DC on May 20-22, 2009. This meeting featured a well-balanced program on storage applications and technologies, plus the first Storage Technology Showcase with 13 exhibitors.
This year's meeting theme, "Electricity Storage - Adding Value to the Grid" proved timely in light of increased DOE spending for storage as part of the current US Federal Stimulus Package. The two and one-half day event featured 10 panel sessions with a total of 40 presentations. The opening session on Wednesday evening featured a summary presentation of the "State of Energy Storage" by ESA Chairman, Brad Roberts and welcoming remarks from Ned Hall, President of AES North America followed by a reception in the Technology Showcase area of the meeting.
Thursday contained a full day of panel sessions plus a luncheon presentation by Henrik Dam, Program Officer in the European Commission's Office of Distributed Generation. Mr. Dam's remarks covered the status of storage activities in Europe. The annual award ceremony for the Phil Symon's Achievement Award was bestowed on ESA Chairman, Brad Roberts and DOE Storage Program Manager, Dr. Imre Gyuk. Thursday's events were capped during the annual banquet with the keynote address by Mike Morris, American Electric Power's Chairman and CEO. Mr. Morris related AEP's continued commitment to innovations throughout AEP's service territories and the continued advancement of storage. AEP has been a leader in storage with numerous demonstration projects over the last five years.
Friday's sessions opened with a presentation by ESA Board Member, Chris Shelton, on the new ESA website. Over the last six months, Mr. Shelton has guided the development of the new site, which will be easier to keep up to date along with new features. The day's panels focused on innovations in storage and a session of storage for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs). Dr. Imre Gyuk from DOE was the featured luncheon speaker with an overview of the DOE stimulus spending package as it relates to storage.
With regard to the business of the ESA, the Board of Directors approved an increase in the number of Directors to 15. The annual board elections welcomed three new Directors, Chet Sandberg of Altairnano, Robert Hanes of Magnum Energy and Dr. Rahul Walawalkar of Customized Energy Solutions. The Board acknowledged the loyal service from Bill Hassenzahl, who chose not to run for re-election to the Board. Ali Nourai of American Electric Power assumed the role of Chairman of the ESA for a two-year term. Chris Shelton of AES Corporation was elected Vice Chairman. In response to the growing activities of the ESA, the Board named Past Chairman, Brad Roberts to the position of ESA Executive Director to help Ali Nourai manage the continued growth of the ESA.
As the interest in energy storage expands, the ESA continues to expand its activities and services to members. Your ESA Board has rolled out a new improved website with a much improved database on grid storage.
Brad Roberts, ESA Executive Director
Washington, DC - Vice President Joe Biden, on a visit to Jefferson City, Missouri, today with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, detailed plans by the Department of Energy to develop a smart, strong and secure electrical grid, which will create new jobs and help deliver reliable power more effectively with less impact on the environment to customers across the nation. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Vice President outlined plans to distribute more than $3.3 billion in smart grid technology development grants and an additional $615 million for smart grid storage, monitoring and technology viability.