Cooperative Living May 2017 - 26

CloserLook | by Paul Wesslund, Contributing Writer
Batteries Versus Energy Storage
C
onsumers expect more from their
electricity these days, which means
electric cooperatives are facing new
challenges to meet new expectations.
Among those expectations are smoother,
faster recoveries after storm outages and
better access to renewable energy choices.
One possible solution to these new
expectations is a new generation of large
batteries that could capture energy when
it's plentiful, and release that energy when
demand is higher. Batteries are a hot topic
for meeting those new demands, and some
experts predict that utility-scale use of
batteries could grow by eight times in the
next four years.
ENERGY-STORAGE ALTERNATIVES
TO BATTERIES
But some experts say even that's
thinking small. What batteries promise
utilities is the ability to store energy. But a
traditional battery that produces directcurrent
electricity from a mix of chemicals
inside a case is just one way to store
energy. Changing the term " battery " to
" energy storage " opens up a whole new
world of improving your electric service.
" For many of the things a battery
can do, there are other technologies that
can accomplish the same thing, " says
Andrew Cotter, a program manager
for the National Rural Electric Cooperative
Association's (NRECA) Business and
Technology Strategies group. " That's
encompassed by this larger idea of
energy storage. "
Batteries are booming because
everybody wants them; for smartphones,
laptop computers and electric cars. The
forces of competition and supply and
demand are producing research and massproduction
techniques that are making
batteries better and cheaper.
Even the military is adding to the push
for better batteries, says Cotter.
24 | Cooperative Living | May 2017
" The military is increasingly interested
in batteries, specifically to support their
bases and to make sure they're increasing
their resiliency for their different critical
assets, " says Cotter.
State governments are adding requirements
for utilities aimed at improving storm
recovery and encouraging renewable
energy. More than a dozen states have
taken action to promote energy storage.
And that distinction between " energy
storage " and " batteries " could be the
difference between solving a problem the
expensive way, or the efficient way.
For example, one way to store energy
without a battery is already in place -
pumped storage.
Tom Lovas, a technical liaison and
consultant with NRECA, says, " We have
22 gigawatts of energy storage already,
in the form of pumped storage. " That
22 gigawatts is enough to power about
15 million homes.
But what is pumped storage? It's a
technology that allows a power plant to
pump water up a hill when not many
people are using electricity, like in the
middle of the night. Then, during times of
peak use, like when everyone is using hot
water in the morning, the water is released
downhill through a turbine that generates
electricity for the busier times of day.
Forty-two pumped-storage plants
are already operating around the U.S.
A Department of Energy study issued last
year said that today's pumped-storage
capacity could be increased to as much
as 36 gigawatts.
YOUR WATER HEATER
COULD BE A BATTERY
Keith Dennis describes another " costeffective "
storage innovation in which you
or your electric co-op may be involved.
It's called " community storage " and it
harnesses the energy that's stored and
Paul Wesslund writes on cooperative issues for
the National Rural Electric Cooperative
Association, the Arlington, Virginia-based service
arm of the nation's 900-plus consumer-owned,
not-for-profit electric cooperatives.
www.co-opliving.com
The distinction between 'energy storage' and 'batteries' could be the difference between
solving a problem the expensive way, or the efficient way.
available throughout communities, like in
your home's water heater in the form of
hot water. " A water heater is a thermal
battery, " says Dennis, NRECA senior
principal for end-use solutions and standards.
" It's a very basic form of thermal storage. "
Dennis says a couple dozen electric
co-ops around the country are already
supporting community-storage programs
that coordinate consumer-members' water
heaters into a large battery. That stored
energy could be used during peak-demand
times, possibly avoiding the expense of
building an additional power plant.
And Dennis expects to see more
community-storage programs. A water
heater program could even include the
energy stored in electric car batteries when
they're not in use.
Dennis predicts, " Thermal storage could
be much, much cheaper and more costeffective
than traditional batteries. "
Batteries. Thermal storage. Pumped
storage. Community storage. Cotter says
all of those options mean that utilities are
learning to meet the new electricity demands
not by focusing on a single technology like
batteries, but by responding to each
separate energy question with the most
appropriate form of energy storage.
" It's important to not get hung up
on specific battery or energy-storage
technologies. " he says. " If it's backup
power you need for energy on a remote
part of the utility system, water heaters
won't produce electrons, so maybe you do
need to explore batteries. But if what you
want is to reduce peak-electricity uses,
water heaters could be a much cheaper
alternative than batteries. "
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living May 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living May 2017
