Solar Energy and Battery Storage – Overcoming Limitations and Challenges
Solar energy can be a great way to lower your energy bills, but there are some limitations and challenges you should be aware of. Storage systems help address these issues and allow for more efficient use of solar energy from the sun.
Solar energy and battery storage are becoming more deeply embedded into the global energy landscape. They offer a multitude of beneficial applications, such as grid services and solar self-consumption.
Costs
Battery storage can help reduce the financial strain from solar energy on your electric bill. This is because it stores solar energy when rates are low and releases it during times of higher demand when you require more electrical energy.
Batteries provide grid flexibility. They can replace fossil fuel power plants that produce electricity for a few hours when demand suddenly surges.
These storage systems can be integrated into a new solar system or added onto an existing array. Their prices differ based on the amount of energy they store and the size and brand of battery you choose.
Home electricity consumption and the number of kilowatt-hours produced from solar energy determine how much storage is necessary. Selecting the correct battery depends on both your kWh needs and round-trip efficiency.
Performance
Solar energy and battery storage can offer customers numerous advantages. These include reduced utility rates and pocketbook protection, energy independence, as well as better monitoring of a property’s electricity production.
Furthermore, solar-plus-storage systems can be employed to increase grid resilience. This is because batteries allow you to avoid curtailments, smooth out production ramps and shift energy towards more valuable times of the day; additionally, they reduce peak demand in optimal locations.
Batteries can also be equipped with advanced control software and learning algorithms to enable dispatchable solar energy storage (ESC) systems that automatically switch from the grid to batteries during peak demand, helping reduce demand charges and ease pressure on local distribution companies. This helps lower both their burden on grid services as well as their overall cost.
Battery costs have been decreasing steadily over the years, and are expected to keep dropping as manufacturing economies of scale and regulatory obstacles are removed. Still, further incentives and investment in technology must be made in order for batteries to reach a level where they become economically viable for a wide variety of commercial and utility-scale applications.
Safety
Safety is of the utmost importance when it comes to solar energy and battery storage systems. This applies not only to those working on them, but also the public when the systems are operational.
Thermal runaway is one of the greatest safety risks associated with lithium-ion batteries used in energy storage systems like solar battery backup. It can cause fires and explosions that cause property damage, injuries, and even death.
This risk can be reduced, but never completely eliminated. Instead, safety decisions must take into account acceptable levels of damage that thermal runaway could cause.
NREL researchers employ a range of sophisticated tools to assess these risks at the particle, electrode and pack level. Specifically, they utilize models of abuse reactions and thermal runaway that predict battery chemical response to various mechanical and thermal abuse behaviors.
Applicability
Solar energy is increasingly being employed in various applications, and battery storage plays a key role in many modern solar systems. This technology enables homeowners to take advantage of any extra solar power produced from their system during nights or cloudy days by charging up their phone batteries.
Therefore, solar-plus-storage can be an efficient solution to reduce energy costs and enhance your home’s environmental impact. Plus, it helps you avoid time-of-use charges from your utility provider.
A solar-plus-storage system consists of solar panels, an inverter and battery solution. Furthermore, your setup may be linked to a performance tracker to monitor how much power is generated.
Utility-scale stationary batteries currently dominate global energy storage. However, small-scale storage is expected to experience a meteoric rise by 2030 due to multiple factors, including an explosion of renewables.