We live in a world that is very sensitive to the use of fossil fuels for our energy needs.  In fact, our energy demand is increasing rapidly.  The Global Climate changes prompt a real look at the alternatives sources of energy.

Two of the prominent “green” energy sources are Solar Energy and Wind Energy. However, both these sources are NOT a guaranteed source for uninterrupted use.  Therefore, just like we use water reservoirs to manage water supply, Battery Storage Systems can be used to store energy to be used upon demand.

Sources for vast majority of electricity continue to be fossil fuels or nuclear power for generations to come.  A new problem in the energy generation market is the periodic excess demand for electricity at certain periods of time in a day.  We in the industry call this short time demand as "PEAK DEMAND".  Managing such Peak Demand is costly for the Power Generation companies.  So, the utility companies have started charging customers at the rate of $10-20 per kW vs. the off-peak charge of $0.06-$0.2 per kWh depending on the market area in USA.  Small businesses and residential customers are increasingly looking for solutions to reduce such Peak Demand Charges. 

One of the drawbacks of solar energy generation is the fact that it needs good amount of sun light to generate electricity and even in a bright sunny day, the energy production peak time is NOT matching with the energy demand peak time.  Also, the presence of broken clouds or a fully cloudy day can disrupt the power generation.  What does it mean to the distribution of power to industries and homes?  It means frequent disruption. 

Power generation using wind turbines also has a similar problem in that in most places wind is abundant in the night time.  Also the force of wind cannot be controlled and hence sometimes there will be a burst of power produced in the unwanted time!  So, managing the distribution of power from a wind mill farm is more difficult than that from a Solar Plant.

One of the solutions is to have a bunch of diesel generators made available as stand by units to produce electricity when a green source can’t produce.  This solution doesn’t enable the world to meet the Green Energy goal!

This is where the use of energy storage devices or batteries comes in handy.  We can store the power from a Solar Plant, or from a wind mill, or from the Grid into a bank of batteries and use that energy during Peak Demand.  One benefit for this way of application is that a business or a residence can avoid peak charges or Demand charges from the utility.  A typical mid-sized battery and schematic diagram of the concept is shown below (taken from Literature). 

        

 * - Michigan State University Report, May 2019

One another concept is to build Li-ion batteries with smaller sizes of 50 to 100 kWh range.  Depending on the requirement of a household or business, one can tie up many of these batteries in a modular approach to get the required battery storage capacity. 

From our analysis of the market and from the work experience of Dr. Thomas, Li-ion batteries are the best battery technology for this application.  Li-ion batteries can last 10 to 15 years.  Out of the many different types of Li-ion technology, we recommend a particular chemistry which is much safer than other technologies.    

We have the expertise to guide and lead your team in the Battery Energy Storage space. 

We can develop specifications of the battery, support in the installation of the system, and procure appropriate sized battery for you. 

Please contact us by emailing to gthomas@estquality.com   

Contact us:

Dr. George Thomas,

Executive Consutant & CEO

gthomas@ESTQuality.com

Mobile:  404-630-8577.

Please see contact us .