Course Content:
Wind and solar energy are intermittent sources of energy: the wind does not blow continuously nor does the sun always shine. If wind and solar power are ever to provide a significant portion of national energy use, devices are required that store the energy as it is generated and distribute the energy as it is needed. This course describes a number of such devices. The three most promising technologies are singled out for detailed study: pumped storage hydropower (PSH), compressed-air energy storage (CAES), and high-energy batteries. Issues of performance, site availability, costs, environmental impacts, the need for additional transmission lines, market development, and regulation are discussed.
Learning Objectives:
This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:
• Characteristics of batteries, PSH, CAES, flywheels, capacitors, superconducting magnetic energy storage, vehicle-to-grid, and hydrogen energy storage
• Power component and energy component of storage technologies
• Cost and performance of PSH, CAES, and high-energy batteries
• Site availability for PSH and CAES installations
• Environmental and social impacts (land and water use, greenhouse gas emissions)
• Market and regulatory barriers to storage deployment
This course is intended for engineers concerned with the development of alternative energy technologies for electrical generation.
This course includes a true/false and multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to highlight the general concepts of the course material.
This course is based on Chapter 12, “Energy Storage Technologies” of Volume 2 of “Renewable Electricity Futures Study. NREL/TP-6A20-52409-2. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2012.
