Markets - 14/November/2017

No sign of a silver storage bullet

Special report - Electricity Storage part 4/5: No means of affordably storing large volumes of electricity in all geographies exists, but a robust grid, connected over a wide area, can deliver green energy reliability

Most storage technologies in use today have been playing a part in electricity supply for a number years, though only pumped hydro has been deployed at any significant scale (see a table of types, capabilities and principle uses here). The lack of investment in storage is a reflection of the forces of supply and demand, which indicate a limited need for the product, evident in its low market price. The services storage offers are often already provided from supplies of electricity as it is generated and at less cost, also on power systems with high proportions of renewable energy. ...

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