The Role of Energy Storage in the Evolution of Renewable Energy and Its Effect on the Environment

Alec J. Ernst^1, , Isaac Ansah¹, Keyshon Bachus¹, Charles Kporxah¹ and Olusegun S. Tomomewo¹

¹University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, USA

Cite this paper:
Alec J. Ernst, Isaac Ansah, Keyshon Bachus, Charles Kporxah and Olusegun S. Tomomewo. The Role of Energy Storage in the Evolution of Renewable Energy and Its Effect on the Environment. American Journal of Energy Research. 2023; 11(3):128-143. doi: 10.12691/ajer-11-3-4

Abstract

Population increase, energy dependency and climate change are issues causing the world to rapidly focus on clean and renewable sources of energy. With a business-as-usual attitude, further consequences may ensue. Renewable energy will drive diversification of fuels and allow for energy infrastructures to become more independent from remote grids. Renewable energy is good for the planet and is virtually inexhaustible, unlike fossil fuels. Within the United States, numerous clean power projects have been set in place to support powering the electric grid with 100% clean energy by 2050. Constraints to this plan are that renewable energy is not available around the clock and has limited infrastructural investments for transmission, distribution etc. Energy storage can help to close the gap by efficient delivery of inflexible, baseload clean energy resources. Energy storage will be key to reliably delivering clean energy and understanding this role in the evolution of renewable energy and its effect on the environment has not been fully studied. This work investigates the role of energy storage in bridging the lapses between renewable energy production and climate change mitigation efforts. By using case studies, we showed the potential of energy storage in renewable energy curtailment efforts and reducing emissions associated with electric power generation. Legislation will play an important role in relaxing the market barriers to the deployment of renewable and storage systems. An overhaul of the bureaucratic structures in favor of renewable energy and its allied technologies such as energy storage systems, is required to allow a seamless transition into a new era in which clean energy dominates the share of the energy mix.

Keywords:
Renewable Energy Energy Storage Sustainability Climate Change Energy Systems Fossil Fuels

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Figures

References:

[1]	Gielen, Dolf. Boshell, Francisco. Deger, Saygin. Bazilian, Morgan D. Wagner, Nicholas. Gorini, Ricardo. (2019). The role of rene wable energy in the global energy trans for mation. Energy Strategy Reviews. April 2019. 24(38-50) https://www.science direct.com/science/article/pii/ S2211467X19300082
[2]	Kahan, Ari. (2019). EIA projects nearly 50% increase in world energy usage by 2050, led by growth in Asia. (24 Sept 2019). https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=41433#
[3]	Daley, Beth. (6 May 2021). Climate change: how bad could the future be if we do nothing? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/climate-change-how-bad-could-the-future-be-if-we-do-nothing-159665
[4]	Environmental and Energy Study Institute. (2022). Fossil Fuels. 22 July 2022. https://www.eesi.org/topics/fossil-fuels/description
[5]	Ritchie, Hannah. (15 Dec 2021). A Global Breakdown of Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Sector. Visual Capitalist. http://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/a-global-breakdown-of-greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-secotr/
[6]	Fischer, James R., Finnel, Janine A., Lavoie, Brian D. (2006) Renewable Energy in Agriculture: Back to the Future?. Choices. https://www.choicesmagazine.org/2006-1/biofuels/2006-1-05.htm
[7]	Ciolkosz, Daniel. (2009). What is Renewable Energy? Penn State Extension. https://extension.psu.edu/what-is-renewable-energy
[8]	IGS Energy. (2022). 7 Types of Renewable Energy. https://www.igs.com/energy-resource-center/energy-101/types-of-renewable-energy
[9]	Energysage (2022). Advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy. https://news.energysage.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-renewable-energy/
[10]	Energy Storage. (15 Feb 2015) How it Works and Its Role in an Equitable Clean Energy Future. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/how-energy-storage-works
[11]	U.S. EPA. 22 Nov. 2021. Electricity Storage. Energy and the Environment. https://www.epa.gov/energy/electricity-storage
[12]	Fractal. (2022). Energy Storage Utility Feasibility Study. Accessed: 18 June 2022. Retrieved from: https: //www.energystorageconsultants.com/energystoragefeasibility/
[13]	National Energy Technology Laboratory. Energy Storage for Fossil Fuel Energy Systems. https://netl.doe.gov/carbon-management/crosscutting/energy-storage
[14]	United States Climate Change. The Paris Agreement. https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement
[15]	Stanford University. (1 August 2013). Climate change occurring ten times faster than at any time in past 65 million years. ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130801142420.htm
[16]	Stillman, Dan. Green, JoCasta. (7 August 2017). What is Climate Change? Nasa Knows. https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-climate-change-k4.html
[17]	Adler, Sami. (1 March 2021). How Much Would It Cost to End Climate Change?. Global Giving. https://www.globalgiving.org/learn/cost-to-end-climate-change/
[18]	U.S. EIA. (13 December 2021). Gasoline - a petroleum product. Gasoline explained. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/gasoline/
[19]	"Renewable energy transition: A case study of how international collaboration on Offshore Wind Technology Benefits American workers." (2021, July 30). Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://energycentral.com/news/renewable-energy-transition-case-study-how-international-collaboration-offshore-wind-technology
[20]	Ntavarinos, N., Davies, P., & Oterkus, E. (2019, September 30). Assessment of Energy Storage Technologies for case studies with increased renewable energy penetration. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.peertechzpublications.com/articles/ALO-4-107.php
[21]	Energy Storage Grand Challenge Energy Storage Market Report. (n.d.). Retrieved August 3, 2022, from https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2020/12/f81/Energy%20Storage%20Market%20Report%202020_0.pdf
[22]	Delta Clean Energy / Industrial Intelligence Editor, & Delta Clean Energy / Industrial Intelligence Editor. (2022, January 20). Safety challenges in the design of Stationary Energy Storage Systems. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://blog.deltaww.com/en/energyinfrastructuresolutions-en/energy-storage/energy-storage-safety/
[23]	Bandyk, M. (2020, May 26). Landfills emerge as promising battery storage sites to back up Renewable Energy. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.wastedive.com/news/landfills-promising-sites-battery-storage-solar-renewable-energy/577898/
[24]	Case study: Feasibility analysis of renewable energy ... - UNLV libraries. (n.d.). Retrieved August 3, 2022, from https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1634&context=thesesdissertations
[25]	Making the case for Energy Storage. (n.d.). Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.burnsmcd.com/insightsnews/1898/white-papers/making-the-case-for-energy-storage
[26]	Solving challenges in Energy Storage. (n.d.). Retrieved August 3, 2022, from https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2018/09/f55/2018-08-23_Spotlight%20on%20Energy %20Storage%20-% 20Brochure%20and% 20Success% 20Stories_0.pdf
[27]	Bandyk, M. (2020, May 26). Landfills emerge as promising battery storage sites to back up Renewable Energy. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.wastedive.com/news/landfills-promising-sites-battery -storage -solar-renewable -energy/577898/
[28]	Mellor, J. (2019, December 21). Energy Storage Systems Face A Battery recycling and disposal crisis? Retrieved August 3, 2022, from https://en ergystorageforum.com/ news/ energy-storage /energy-storage-systems- facing-battery-recycling-disposal-crisis
[29]	Sarah Vogelsong, V. (2021, January 20). Legislation aims to reduce barriers for energy storage projects. Retrieved August 6, 2022, from https://www.virginiamercury.com /2021/01/20/ legislation-aims-to-reduce-barriers-for-energy-storage-projects/
[30]	Mary Bates, How Does a Battery Work?, Massachusetts Institute of Technology—School of Engineering, May 1, 2012, https://engineering.mit.edu/engage/ask-an-engineer/ how-does-a-battery-work/
[31]	BNEF, Electric Vehicle Outlook. Available online: https://about.bnef.com/eletric-vehicle-outlook-2020/
[32]	EIA, Electricity Storage: Location, Location, Location … and Cost, June 29, 2012, https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=6910.
[33]	CRS Report R42696, Weather-Related Power Outages and Electric System Resiliency, by Richard J. Campbell.
[34]	Vella, Heidi, and Heidi Vella. “The True Cost of Energy Storage.” Power Technology, 31 May 2016, https://www.power-technology.com/ analysis/featurethe-true-cost -of-energy-storage-4872402/.
[35]	U.S. Department of Energy, The Potential Benefits of Distributed Generation and Rate-Related Issues That May Impede Their Expansion, p. 42, February 2007, https://www.ferc.gov/legal/fed-sta/exp-study.pdf.
[36]	EIA, Annual Energy Outlook 2019 with Projections to 2050, January 24, 2019, pp. 126-128. https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/pdf/aeo2019.pdf.
[37]	Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations, Pathways to Deep Decarbonization, United Nations, July 8, 2014, http://unsdsn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/DDPP_interim_2014_report.pdf.
[38]	How Do Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles Work?, March 14, 2018 https://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/electric-vehicles/how-do-hydrogen-fuel-cells-wor
[39]	Marsh, J. (2021, August 20). Lithium Ion Battery Recycling: An overview: Energysage. Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://news.energysage.com/lithium-ion-battery-recycling/#:~:text=Lithium-ion %20batteries%20aren%E2%80%99t% 20quite%20as%20far% 20along%20as,battery%20is%20shredded%20up%20into%20very% 20smalImproving power system modeling: A tool to link capacity ... - NREL. (n.d.). Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://www.nrel.gov/docs/ fy16osti/64905.pdf
[40]	Climate change and batteries: The search for future Power Storage Solutions. (n.d.). Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://royalsociety.org/-/media/policy/projects/climate-change-science-solutions/climate-science-solutions-batteries.pdf
[41]	Case study 1: Alaska, U.S., Island/off-grid frequency response - irena. (n.d.). Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2015/IRENA_Battery_Storage_case_studies_2015.pdf?la=en&hash=9F36F343000EAC1763B685F18B9CD61311463A6E
[42]	Economic Analysis case studies of Battery Energy Storage with Sam - NREL. (n.d.). Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy16osti/64987.pdf
[43]	New EU regulatory framework for batteries - european Parliament. (n.d.). Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2021/689337/EPRS_BRI(2021)689337_EN.pdf
[44]	Emerging hazards of battery energy storage system fires. (n.d.). Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://www.fema.gov/case-study/emerging-hazards-battery-energy-storage-system-fires
[45]	District Energy in cities Paris case study overview. (n.d.). Retrieved August 7, 2022, from http://www.districtenergyinitiative.org/sites/default/files/publications/paris-case-study-290520171142.pdf
[46]	Case study: Co-optimising a municipally owned battery storage site in Britain. (2021, August 09). Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://www.energy-storage.news/case-study-co-optimising-a-municipally-owned-battery-storage-site-in-britain/
[47]	Climate change related impacts in the San Diego region by 2050. (n.d.). Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/environmental-services/pdf/sustainable/2050climate.pdf
[48]	(n.d.). Retrieved August 7, 2022, from https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/ all/cusersusernamedocumentsfile-folder-name/3c43589c-b582-433b-99ea-cfe3e1b2a270
[49]	Guney, M. S., & Tepe, Y. (2017). Classification and assessment of energy storage systems. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 75, 1187-1197, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/ S1364032116308218? casa_token= BKN2ZFgscTsAAAAA:PZHAQLADOnqYFyLMxiUzqHzQyPkU5uLyu-CX6_mRQsN8as0YgG8iUgp0wjwagtolipvVhdd_
[50]	En-Roads.https://en-roads.climateinteractive.org/scenario.html? v=22.8.0&p16=-0.01&p47=3.1&p50=3.1&p53=44&p55=48
[51]	Cook, J., Nuccitelli, D., Green, S. A., Richardson, M., Winkler, B., Painting, R., Way, R., Jacobs, P. and Skuce, A. (2013) ‘Quantifying the consensus on anthropogenic global warming in the scientific literature’, Environmental Research Letters. IOP Publishing, 8(2), p. 024024.
[52]	Field, C. B., Barros, V. R., Dokken, D. J., Mach, K. J., MD, M., Bilir, T. E., Chatterjee, M., KL, E., Estrada, Y. O., Genova, R. C., Girma, B., Kissel, E. S., Levy, A. N., MacCracken, S., Mastrandea, P. R. and White, L. L. (eds) (2014) Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.
[53]	Giddens, A. (2011) The Politics of Climate Change. Second Edition. Cambridge, UK and Malden, USA: Polity Press.
[54]	Global Carbon Project (2014) Carbon budget and trends 2014. Global Carbon Project.
[55]	Grin, J., Rotmans, J. and Schot, J. (2010) Transitions to Sustainable Development. New York: Routledge.
[56]	Hackmann, H. and St Clair, A. (2012) Transformative cornerstones of social science research for global change. International Social Science Council.
[57]	Bhattari, Utsav. Maraseni, Tek. Apan, Armando. 10 August 2022. Assay of renewable energy transition: A systematic literature review. Science of the Total Environment. Vol 833. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969722022525
[58]	Energy Information Administration. (2004). Annual energy outlook 2004: with projections to 2025. Available online: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/.
[59]	Lund, J.W. (2005). The United States of America country update. Proceedings of the World Geothermal Congress 2005, Antalya, Turkey. April 24-29. Available online: http://geoheat.oit.edu/pdf/tp121.pdf.
[60]	California Public Utilities Commission, "Assembly Bill 2514 Decision," 3 September 2013. [Online]. Available: http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M078/K912/78912194.PDF.
[61]	D. Shimogawa, "Hawaii Electric to use energy storage project developed by California startup," Pacific Business News, 11 September 2014. [Online]. Available: http://www.bizjournals.com/ pacific/blog/morning_call/2014/09/ hawaiian-electric-to-useenergy-storage-project.html
[62]	N. DiOrio, A. Dobos, S. Janzou, A. Nelson and B. Lundstrom, "Technoeconomic Modeling of Battery Energy Storage in SAM," National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, 2015.
[63]	D. Linden and T. Reddy, Linden's Handbook of Batteries - 4th Edition, New York : McGraw Hill, 2011.
[64]	Outback Power, "Energy Cell RE," [Online]. Available: http://www.outbackpower.com/outback-products/ energy-storage/item/energycellre?category_id=442. [Accessed 17 August 2015]
[65]	DSIRE, "California Solar Initiatives - PV Incentives," 18 June 2015. [Online]. Available: http://programs.dsireusa.org/system/program/detail/2362. [Accessed 17 August 2015].
[66]	Knoxville Utilities Board, "Electric Rate Schedules," [Online]. Available: http://tinyurl.com/nte9t36. [Accessed 24 August 2015]
[67]	Breaking barriers in deployment of renewable energy https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6351575/#bib4
[68]	W. Short, D. J. Packey and T. Holt, "A Manual for the Economic Evaluation of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Technologies," National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, 1995.
[69]	National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP) https://https://www.epa.gov/nscep
[70]	2017 National Emissions Inventory (NEI) Data https://www.epa.gov/air-emissions-inventories/2017-national-emissions-inventory-nei-data
[71]	De Sisternes, F. J., Jenkins, J. D., & Botterud, A. (2016). The value of energy storage in decarbonizing the electricity sector. Applied Energy, 175, 368-379.
[72]	Richard and Zulfikar Yurnaidi. Energy Storage: Unlocking the Full Potential of Renewable Energy
[73]	Mayyas, Ahmad. Steward, Darlene. Mann, Margaret. The Case for Recycling: Overview and Challenges in the Material Supply Chain for Automotive Li-ion Batteries. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. https://docs.google.com/document/d/ 105pdconl2 Hnu_vE-gsGxPYrx62yABGQc/edit
[74]	Zablocki, Alexandra. (2019) Fact Sheet | Energy Storage: Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/energy-storage-2019
[75]	Energy storage is key to unlocking renewable renewable power’s full potential. https://accept.aseanenergy.org/energy-storage-unlocking-the-full-potential-of-RE#:~:text=Energy% 20Storage%3A%20Key% 20to%20Unlock% 20the%20Full%20Potential,gaps%20caused%20by%20intermittency%20issues%20of%20renewable%20energy.
[76]	Sterner, Michael. & Stadler, Ingo (2019) Handbook of Energy Storage: Demand, Technologies, Integration. (2nd Ed.). Springer Berlin, Heidelberg. 113
[77]	NRDC, (2015), The Paris Agreementon Climate Change. https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/paris-climate-agreement-IB.pdf
[78]	U.S. Department of Energy. Solar Energy Technologies Program. (2003). Solar energy technology program - multiyear technical plan 2004-2007 and beyond. August 29(draft), DOE/GO-102003-1775.
[79]	Richard J. Campbell. Electricity Storage: Applications, Issues, and Technologies http://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R45980.html
[80]	Maryam Arbabzadeh1 , Ramteen Sioshansi2, Jeremiah X. Johnson3 & Gregory A. Keoleian The role of energy storage in deep decarbonization of electricity production The role of energy storage in deep decarbonization of electricity production | Nature Communications
[81]	US Energy Information Administratoin. 5 July 2022. Fossil Fuels Were Once Again the Dominant Energy Source in the U.S. 2021. Retrieved from: https://inspectioneering.com/news/2022-07-05/10195/ fossil-fuels-were-once-again-the-dominant-energy-source-in-the-us-in-2021
[82]	US Energy Information Administration. Dec 2022. Total Energy - Monthly Energy Review. Retrieved from: http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/pdf/mer.pdf
[83]	Richard J. Campbell (2019). Electricity Storage: Applications, Issues, and Technologies (A Congressional Research Service publication).
[84]	Electric Storage Participation in Markets Operated by Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators [Docket Nos. RM16-23-000; AD16-20-000; Order No. 841].
[85]	Climate Action Tracker. Nov 2022. Addressing Global Warming. Retrieved from: https:////climateactiontracker.org/global/temperatures/
[86]	Lee et al. Battery Management System Algorithm for Energy Storage Systems Considering Battery Efficiency
[87]	Xiong, R.; Li, L.; Tian, J. Towards a smarter battery management system: A critical review on battery state of health monitoring methods. J. Power Sour. 2018, 405, 18–29
[88]	Movassagh, K.; Raihan, A.; Balasingam, B.; Pattipati, K. A Critical Look at Coulomb Counting Approach for State of Charge Estimation in Batteries. Energies 2021, 14, 4074.
[89]	Lu, L.; Han, X.; Li, J.; Hua, J.; Ouyang, M. A review on the key issues for lithium-ion battery management in electric vehicles. J. Power Sources 2013, 226, 272–288.