Integrating Energy Storage with Renewable Energy Generation

Renewable energy provides the potential for a future in which abundant energy is available with extremely low levels of emission of harmful substances into the environment. The net resources present in most locations exceed the present local requirements for power but two main considerations limit the potential: (a) the cost of the systems used to convert the energy from its primary form and (b) the requirement to balance the supply of power with demand for that power. Presently, these two considerations are predominantly treated as independent concerns to be addressed by different communities. This paper asserts that this separation is both unnecessary and ill-advised in the context of most renewable energy forms and it sets out the case for the integration of energy storage, in its broadest sense, with systems that harvest renewable energy. In the case of wind power in particular it notes two distinct possibilities for such integration that stand up to scrutiny. The paper recognises that energy storage is only one of several possible solutions for reconciling supply and demand and it outlines a neutral methodology for comparing the costs of such solutions. Applying this methodology provides a very positive indication of the benefits of integrating energy storage with generation from renewable energy.