(Excerpt from Energy Global)
What is the importance of energy storage technology as the world shifts towards renewable energy?
"The global transition to renewable energy is accelerating, spurred on by increased political will seeking higher energy security and independence in the wake of the global energy crisis [1]. We are experiencing an increased proliferation of solar and wind power plants delivering intermittent energy supply. To ensure that this increased energy production delivers a stable and reliable stream of energy requires effective energy storage technology.
According to IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook 2022, an increase in energy transition investment of 30% between now and 2050 will be required to achieve Net Zero by 2050 [2]. This represents a total of US$131 trillion, a multiple increase in investment to drive what amounts to a realignment of the global energy sector. A significant change is already well underway and accelerating, as a drive towards renewables ramps up all across the world. In the European Union there was a record 13 percent year-on-year increase in electricity generated from solar photovoltaics and wind from March to September 2022:
Across the other side of the Atlantic the renewable energy sector is thriving even more. According to data from the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE), Latin America and the Caribbean have 25% of renewable energies in the composition of their primary energy grid [3]. Renewables, grids and storage now also account for more than 80 per cent of total global investment in the power sector [4].
Careful and strategic planning is required to ensure a reliable and steady flow of this new energy. This development towards renewables comes with a more variable and more volatile energy resource. Often characterised with regional and seasonal variations, this energy varies month by month, day by day and hour by hour. Such variability creates challenges to providing the stable and reliable supply of energy which is so crucial to economies. Energy supply has been described as ‘the apex commodity of the global economy… an input in the production process and an important part of the supply chain of commercial firms.
Energy storage systems are a foundation stone that ensure a balanced and reliable energy supply and as such, empower self-sufficiency. This is true for the majority of nations, from developed economies such as Germany, Australia and the UK, across to small island development states such as in the Caribbean or Asia Pacific. National policies are driving the building of renewable energy storage to reduce dependence on energy imports, enhance systems reliability, and progress towards decarbonization."
Find the full article in Energy Global - Winter Issue (page 60 to 62)
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[1] Reuters, Ukraine crisis will speed energy transition in mid-term, says renewables agency chief. Can be found at: https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/ukraine-crisis-will-speed-energy-transition-mid-term-says-renewables-agency-2022-09-27/
[2] IRENA, World Energy Transitions Outlook (irena.org)
[3] OLADE, Towards the energy transition in Latin America and the Caribbean – OLADE
[4] IEA, Record clean energy spending is set to help global energy investment grow by 8% in 2022
