Energy Storage Systems: Pros, Cons, and Commercial Availabilities

This article discusses the pros and cons of energy storage systems, including their commercial availabilities. It explains how these systems can help with the unreliability of renewable energy sources and their impact on the environment. The article also covers various types of energy storage systems, such as pumped storage hydro, hydrogen storage, compressed air, flywheel, and thermal energy storage. Additionally, it provides recommendations for efficient energy storage for solar-pv and wind turbine systems.

Running Head: ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS
ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS
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Energy storage system
Energy storage is the capture of energy generated at one time for use at a later time. This
energy exists in so many forms; radiation energy, potential energy, electricity energy,
gravitational energy, latent heat energy, kinetic energy and chemical energy (Boyle, 2014, p. 56).
Notable examples of these energy storage systems are rechargeable batteries
which basically stores chemical energy that can be readily transformed into electrical energy and
can be used to charge mobile phones, operate a vehicle, and operate a radio, among other uses.
Another one is hydroelectric dams which stores energy in a big reservoir in the form of
gravitational potential energy. So far this is the largest source and mode of energy storage
worldwide (Dincer, 2014, p. 78).
The reason why there is a need for these energy storage systems is the unreliability and the
unpredictability of energy supply from these renewable sources of energy.
Production might be so low on a rainy or a windless day yet the demand from the power
grid remains constant or might even rise sharply (Field, 2014, p. 76). This calls for a storage
system to maximize on maximum production when the conditions favor production. The modern
energy storage systems, otherwise abbreviated as ESS, provide such a mode of storage of energy
for later use. (Dincer, 2015, p. 132)

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These energy storage systems have both their positive aspects and the negative aspects as or
rather pros and cons as we shall discuss below.
Positive and negative aspects of the energy storage systems
Positive aspects
Encourages proper utilization of intermittent renewable energy sources- energy
production from these renewable sources of energy is so variable. They can stop unexpectedly,
something that would affect production thus not satisfying the demand. For this reason, energy
storage systems offer a solution by providing a medium through which energy can be produced
to its maximum quantity when the conditions favors production and then be kept for later use
when the conditions are poor and production dwindles (Herberg, 2013, p. 68).
They can be put together to form an integrated system of energy- energy storage systems, for
example the electric vehicles, can form an integrated system of energy supply to which can serve
for more hours and support a variety of appliances (Dincer, 2014, p. 89).
Curtails the necessity for an increased generation during the high demand hours- this is
because during such high demand moments, the production from the source could have gone
down due to unfavorable conditions. So high production can be done during favorable conditions
and then stored for use when production can’t meet demand (Hibbs, 2013, p. 78).
Boosts grid reliability- they ensure that energy is always available when required and that
the constant outages are done away with. In this manner they make the energy sources reliable.

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They have continued to record an improvement in not only performance but also the cost- over
the time of their continued usage, the energy storage systems have improved greatly both in their
performance and also in their costs. This provides optimism of their greater reliability and
dependency in the future (Kalhammer, 2014, p. 89).
Energy storage systems makes it possible for the renewable energy sources and the fossil fuels to
integrate- nowadays, the renewable sources of energy and the traditional fossil fuels can be
harnessed together to produce better outcome.
Negative aspects
 There is loss of energy in the inefficiency caused by what we call ‘round trip’-
round trip efficiency is the ratio of the energy stored in energy storage systems to
the energy that is eventually retrieved from such a system expressed as a
percentage. The higher the percentage the higher the round trip efficiency. The
inefficiency comes in when some energy leaks out during such storage and
retrieval cycles. All of these storage systems have such inefficiencies at a varying
rate (Rydh, 2014, p. 90).
 Energy storage systems have extra cost in putting them up and are also complex
in nature-owing to their complexities, these energy storage systems involve a lot
of costs in erecting them up, running them and also maintenance costs. An
example is the electric vehicles which forms an integrated system, and requires
very high costs (Thomas, 2016, p. 98)

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 Extra infrastructure and space necessities-erecting such complex systems of
energy storage requires a good infrastructural outlay which takes plenty of space
also.
All in all, the pros outweigh the cons so it is something worth investing to help deal with
constant deficiency of energy when the demand goes up and the supply cannot sustain it (Rufer,
2013, p. 165).
Commercial availabilities of energy storage systems which could be used to support some
of the renewable energy applications.
Below are some of the energy storage systems, other than batteries, which can be used to
support the renewable energy application;
The world is slowly moving from the constant use of fossil fuels which are getting depleted day
by day. These fossil fuels used to perform two functions in one, in that they were both the
sources of energy and also the storage systems for that energy produced (Field, 2014, p. 154).
In contrast, the new renewable sources of energy would be looked at separately in terms
of production and storage. Their ability to enable us to store this energy produced when its
production quantity exceeds what is being demanded by the users will be a vital area of concern
so that we can get the best out of them (Luo, 2014, p. 85).
This is because energy production and supply from these renewable sources such as
wind, solar, tidal, geothermal among others are so unpredictable in that they start and stop at
irregular intervals and it necessitates storage to mitigate such and ensure that it so conserved
when it is available in large amounts and it is not needed so that to be used when it is not
available and it is needed (Lund, 2016, p. 145).

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The main thing here is to go on accumulating the energy by harvesting it at a constant
rate, not paying attention to its demand which might rise and fall but not in accordance with its
production. The excess production over demand is directed to storage forms which may take the
forms of electric batteries (charged), flywheels, electrolytic production, pumped water or even
heat. (Herberg, 2013, p. 165)
Apparently, the first main modern way of energy storage has been pumped storage hydro.
In this invention, the excess energy produced is harnessed in pumping the water uphill into an
artificial storage which then will be added back into the normal flow to help in the production of
more energy during the times when demand becomes so high. Such a method is among the most
efficient means of energy storage which actually makes up about 75% of the methods used,
though it has a demerit of not being readily available (Rufer, 2013, p. 143).
Another storage means is hydrogen storage. Through this method, the extra electricity
produced is harnessed to produce hydrogen and oxygen from water through the process called
electrolysis. This energy can then again be gotten back by running the hydrogen and oxygen into
a fuel cell or we can also use direct combustion of the two gases, that is, hydrogen-oxygen, to
run gas turbines (Field, 2014, p. 178).
Another storage means is through compressed air whereby a device known as a motor
compressor is used to pump air up a tank. The air would then get reversed when the energy is on
demand whereby it would turn the motor into an electric generator while the compressor would
act as a turbine. During this process a lot of heat is produced. Due to this, there has been a new
development whereby a device which harnesses this heat is utilized for other uses. The device

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was developed Light sail energy. It has helped in improving the turbines effectiveness for up to
70% (Kalhammer, 2014, p. 198).
Another storage means, the flywheel, stores its extra energy produced in a spinning motor
which as a result of its tendency to always resist motion, usually maintain constant rotation
speed. They are applied in vacuum enclosures to do away with the friction which is caused by
air, giving them renewed efficiencies. Such systems may be used in the maintain ace of regulated
frequencies in the typical fossil fuel plants, which replaces the need to have more fossil plants
(Rufer, 2013, p. 164).
Another means is storage through thermal energy storage. This one stores the energy in a
storage medium at a certain regulated temperature which will later be used when need arises
such as the times of high demand. The storage takes form of hot water, molten salts or heated
gravels. Some firms have resorted to using the excess energy produced in the creation of ice
which is stored and later used in the provision of air conditioning services during the summer
seasons in huge buildings, both commercial and residential. During the night hours, electricity is
not only cheaper but also contains a bigger component of wind power which makes it purer or
clean.in the United States, the storage through thermal is the second most preferred means after
pump storage, and its use is projected to grow in the near future owing to the continued growth
in solar energy (Herberg, 2013, p. 167).
Storage through electric vehicles can’t be left out either since in doing so we would be
missing out on bigger things. Electric vehicles energy storage acts as a collective entity and
forms the biggest component in the energy storage system. When the windmills are at work at
night, with the electric vehicles, otherwise abbreviated as EVs, parked in the garages, can use

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their batteries to siphon the clean output which is often carbon free, and at the same time making
for the once exclusive component of gasoline (Holtom, 2015, p. 154).
When it comes to daytime, these electric vehicles are connected to smart charging
stations which facilitates charging and discharging that usually becomes the hallmark of an
integrated channel that are interconnected using smart networks. This smart technology has been
witnessed in japan in a program they call ‘Japan’s smart cities program’. Since this type of
energy storage uses carbon, it has been projected that it could help curtail the carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere by close to 9,000,000,000 tons by the year 2020 (Hibbs, 2013, p. 166).
Impacts on the environment during the usage of these energy storage systems and the
wastes produced from some of these systems
The environmental impacts of the usage of these energy storage systems can be both
positive and negative. Some of the impacts are discussed below;
Positive impacts:
 Climate change – the continued use of the renewable sources of energy
such as the solar energy and windmills have greatly helped in taming the
menace of global warming that was caused by the continued use of
sources such as coal. Coal used to emit a lot of carbon into the atmosphere
and such emissions of carbon into the atmosphere destroyed the ozone
layer, which is the protective layer that shields the earth from the strong
heat from the sun (Osman, 2015, p. 121). This heat often resulted into global
warming. Most countries have embraced the use of these renewable clean
sources of energy in their quest to decarbonize the world and

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establishment of clean cities. The use of these energy storage systems have
thus helped in carbon mitigation, a gas which is highly toxic to the health
of human beings (Cho, 2016, p. 139).
 The use of the energy storage systems has helped in curbing the depletion
of fossil fuel which was constantly being used. They have provided an
alternative and thus have given a breather to the use and constant search
for fossil fuel (Cho, 2016, p. 154).
These energy storage systems have provided indirect benefits to the environment
such as; integration of the more renewable energy into electricity grid, they have helped
the generation plants operate at their most efficient levels (Copeland, 2014, p. 146).
Large scale use of these energy storage systems have reduced pollution to the
environment such as fresh water Eco toxicity, emission of greenhouse gases,
eutrophication and production of the particulate matters.
NEGATIVE IMPACTS:
 Effects on the environment
The lithium and lead which are the main raw materials used in the production of batteries
gets disposed at the end of their life cycles. Such disposal poses health hazards to human beings
if not done in the right manner or if not recycled. Lithium and lead are very poisonous substances
and requires a lot of caution when being handled (Field, 2014, p. 216).The latter can lead to the
environmental degradation and ugliness of the vicinity.
 Disturbance of plants

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There is also the problem of the particulate matter production which can affect human
health. Most plants are putting necessary measures though to help mitigate such.
 Costs in environmental maintenance
Leads to additional costs in the environmental maintenance the disposed waste products
lead to the pollution and this leads to added expense in the efforts to maintain the environment
clean and also leads to increase in the social costs.
Recommendations for efficient energy storage for solar-pv and wind turbine systems.
Heat based energy storage system is mostly favored in thermal solar plants that uses the
technology of heat concentration using the mirror arrays instead of relying on the common
photovoltaic panels (D'Errico, 2013, p. 212). The concentrated sunlight raises the temperature of a
high-heat holding substance, for example molten salt. This stored heat is used to turn water into
vapor that is used to which drives a steam turbine. So the availability of enough energy just
depends on the amount of heat stored from the concentration process (Holtom, 2015, p. 213).
 Utilizing off-lattice frameworks
One ought to introduce the off-lattice frameworks at homes since they come up short on a
primary power supply and utilize a diesel generator.
 Utilize reinforcement, lattice associated frameworks
These ought to be introduced to in light of the fact that they are huge in spots where the
issue of intensity cuts is normal or basic like doctor's facilities. These reinforcements switch on
consequently when there is control cut.
 Utilizing framework associated frameworks

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On account of a framework associated wind turbine or PV nearby planetary group, the
batteries don't have to store power for quite a while. This battery shuts the hole between
generation of power and the requirement for power. Henceforth this prompts decrease of power
sold and obtained back later.
The use of the third one, that is the hydrogen fuel cells, is based on electrolysis and is
perhaps the most complicated of the above mentioned. In this method, water is separated into
hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen produced is stored and later used to power fuel cell which
again does the previous process of combining the hydrogen and the oxygen thus providing
electricity. Due to this complicated and expensive process, there should be a reduction in the
amount of electricity which is required in the production of goods for export. (Rufer, 2013, p. 187).
Future developments in the field of energy storage systems as a way of further sustainable
developments
 The energy storage systems mentioned above can only store the energy for few
hours or minutes. There is thus the need to come up with new developments that will
increase the energy holding capacity and duration. The energy storage systems are a very
vital area as the world seeks to move away from the use of non-renewable sources to
renewable sources and also to decarbonize the world (Herberg, 2013, p. 193).
 The future is bright as researchers are working round the clock to make sure that
we get new developments and improvements from the current storage systems that we
have.
One such areas of developments are the flow batteries. These special types of batteries use
chemicals dissolved in water unlike the previous ones which uses lithium ion. The flow batteries

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last longer than their predecessors (Dincer, 2014, p. 56). They thus can be used longer. They can
store enough energy to counter the increased demand at the peak hours when the consumers use
a lot of it. They are also known as redox flow batteries (Thomas, 2016, p. 243).
 Another upcoming and first rising development are the super capacitors.
In the normal lithium ion batteries, there is the problem of energy lose during
charging and discharging, short life cycle, slow charging ability and other
limitations (Boyle, 2014, p. 267). The super capacitors will help overcome these
limitations since they offer faster charging capacity and life time that is almost
twice the period taken by the lithium ion batteries. They also store huge capacity
of the energy (Herberg, 2013, p. 235).
 The final development is the superconducting magnetic energy storage.
These ones enable current to continue flowing even after the removal of the
voltage across it. Its energy is stored in the form of magnetic field that comes
from the current in the superconducting coils. Their efficiencies are as high as we
just to convert the AC to DC. It can be used to store and discharge huge amounts
of energy (Field, 2014, p. 178).
Conclusion
ESS are used as storage systems for the harvesting and storage of electric power. The
application of the energy system determines the kind of energy system that needs to be utilized.it
is always important o store energy during the times when demand is low so that we take care of
the future shortages and unseen risks in general. The renewable sources on the other hand should
keep doubling their efforts so as to optimize on the scarce resources. The latter includes the

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application of solar systems in the production of electricity among other storage systems.
Research should keep on going on the different methods that need to store energy.
.
References
Boyle, G., 2014. Renewable energy. 3rd ed. Chicago: Oxford university press.
Cho, S., 2016. Revolutionizing the energy storage systems. 2nd ed. New York: oxford university
press.
Copeland, R. J., 2014. Solar energy. Systems analysis of thermal storage, 2(7), pp. 367-456.
D'Errico, F., 2013. High capacity hydrogen based green-energy storage solutions for the grid
balancing. In magnesium technology, 3(6), pp. 485-500.
Dincer, I., 2014. On thermal energy storage systems. 2nd ed. New York: Adventure work press.
Dincer, I., 2015. Thermal energy storage. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
Field, J., 2014. Energy storage systems. 5th ed. Chicago: Oxford University Press.
Herberg, G. M., 2013. Energy storage system. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.
Hibbs, B. D., 2013. Energy storage systems. 1st ed. New York: University of Florida.
Holtom, S. W., 2015. Future of energy storage systems. 5th ed. Kansas: Oxford university press.
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Lund, H., 2016. The role of compressed air energy storage in future sustainable energy systems.
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Luo, X., 2014. Applied energy. 3rd ed. Chicago: Florida University Press.
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