Energy Storage & Distributed Generation
August 2, 2011
The United States electric grid is now more than 50 years old and is leading to generous energy excess. Consequently, the energy industry is now focused on the Smart Grid backed by major investments from private firms and the US government.
The US Federal Government has implemented guidelines and policy to encourage the development of smart grid technology. The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) directed over $4.5 billion for electricity delivery and energy reliability modernization efforts, of which smart grid development plays a central role.
Several sectors stand out for their growth potential:
• Energy storage,
• residential or customer side PV,
• Demand Side Management (DSM), and
• distributed generation
Partnerships between Utilities and businesses in pilot programs and test markets across the US have been formed. State and local governments have also implemented their own policies to drive the innovative technologies behind a 21st century grid. Roughly 25 states have adopted policies encouraging smart grid development.
Smart Grid - Demand-side Management: Demand-side management (DSM) refers to the timing and level of electricity demand. It covers load-shape objectives, including strategic conservation and load management, as well as strategic load growth.
Smart Grid - Demand-side Management Outlook: In the short-term, Zpryme expects U.S. DSM investments grow at an annual average rate between 9% - 12% over the next five years.
Smart Grid - Distributed Generation: Localized policies that further develop the demand side of the smart grid often incorporate distributed generation (DG) incentives. Smart gird technologies will work in concert with policies that facilitate DG interconnection. Net metering, virtual net metering and lower maximums for interconnection are all enabling strip malls and franchises to aggregate their own generation and potentially sell that back to the servicing utility. The EIA projects strong gains for the commercial DG sector, as they project capacity to increase from 1.9 giga-watts in 2009 to 6.8 giga-watts in 2035
Smart Grid - Distributed Generation Outlook: U.S. DG capacity in the commercial and industrial sector, in the short term, will grow at an annual average of rate between 7% - 10% over the next five years. During this time period, DG capacity in the U.S. will be driven heavily by the commercial and industrial sector‘s need to decrease their utility costs.
Smart Grid - Customer-sited generation: The focus on smart grid development and customer choice has brought about a new era of solar power development on the customer side of the meter. Feed–in tariffs, net metering or cash rebates have all been utilized to encourage smaller home-mounted renewable systems.
Smart Grid - Customer-sited Generation Outlook: In the short-term, U.S. customer-sited generation capacity is expected to grow at an annual average of rate between 40% - 50% over the next five years. Solar will continue to lead the way as more states will continue to offer incentives for consumers to purchase solar panels for their homes. The costs for residential solar panels will continue to fall significantly over the next five years.
Smart Grid - Energy storage: The ability to rapidly charge and release energy without significantly deteriorating the quality of the energy, and an increased storage capacity are all necessary components to a robust smart grid. Energy storage can gain transmission efficiencies through voltage regulation; can store intermittent and distributed renewable energy to release in times of inactivity and shift peak loads. The forthcoming electric hybrid vehicle fleets are seen as an entry into a world of distributed energy storage and aggregated storage capacity significant enough to provide meaningful load shifting.
Smart Grid - Energy Storage Outlook: U.S. energy storage technology investments are expected to grow at an annual average rate of between 20% - 30% over the next five years. Public and private sector investments, mainstream adoption of EVs, and the pace of smart grid deployment will all play a role in the devilment of the U.S. energy storage market.
For more information see: http://smartgridresearch.org/smart-grid/a-closer-look-at-dsm-energy-storage-distributed-generation/
