Smart grid with energy storage
Smart grids with integrated energy storage facilitate energy supply time shift to
overcome the intermittent nature of many renewable energy sources. They also
provide back up supply in the event of power outage and handle peaks, allowing
designers to downscale equipment to lower ratings to cope with regular loads, not
peak loads.
PEAK SHAVING
In a distributed grid, energy supply and consumption variations result in many power
peaks and troughs. Energy storage smooths the peaks and troughs, so the grid
supply can operate consistently at the average power demand, which is usually
relatively low. This means the grid can carry much more energy with smaller cables,
therefore enabling lower capital investment.
Back-up power
At the same time the energy storage system can also provide back-up power in the
event of energy scarcity from the supply, for example due to load shedding or
unplanned blackout.
During power-down, support from energy storage enables consumers to maintain
operation for a period of time.
Time shifting
Time shifting redistributes energy to optimize cost, by storing energy during times
when energy costs from the grid are low and supplying energy from the storage
medium when energy costs are high. Time shifting is also used to achieve the most
efficient use of diesel generators, so they can run at full power and store excess
energy to battery.
How energy storage improves power quality
Traditional grid : The consumer load creates peaks on the supply network.
Smart grid: Battery storage removes the power peaks on the supply network, so the
consumer load causes virtually no disturbance to the grid. This results in good power
quality and ideally enables us to scale down the distribution infrastructure, saving
cost.