In order for wind technology to be more economical, energy storage must increase in storage and decrease in cost to make variable power generation viable. Three technologies will be examined.
- NanoCap by Dais Analytic Corp.
Dais Analytic is a polymer company out of Tampa Bay, FL and one of their applications is energy storage. They claim their “ultra-capacitor” has three times larger energy density than lithium ion batteries; this type of energy density can be compared to the energy density of gasoline! [2]
- Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) and Electric Vehicles (EV)
With the proliferation of PHEV/EVs and the advent of the Smart Grid, consumers could have the option of actively participating in the consumption or supply of energy. This technology, vehicle to-grid (V2G), communicates with the Smart Grid and allows the consumer to opt-in or out based on an incentive, typically price [4]. V2G can be used as a type of energy storage system to support the power grid.
- Community Energy Storage (CES) by S&C [3]
Shown above is a storage system by S&C that acts as an uninterrupted power supply for back up power as well as using an SMG to inject power back into the grid.
[2] http://daisanalytic.com/applications/nanocap.html [Nov. 12, 2012]
[3] http://www.smartpowercommunity.com/2010/05/taking-grid-energy-storage-to-the-edge/ [Nov. 12, 2012
[4] B. Roberts, J. McDowall, “Commercial successes in power storage,” Power and Energy Magazine, IEEE , vol.3, no.2, pp. 24- 30, March-April 2005
– by Zachary Newell – Posted 11/12/2012 – newell1@illinois.edu
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