AN OVERVIEW

The depleting reserves of the non-renewable sources of energy have threatened the sustainability of human existence and called for a systemic shift to the more sustainable and renewable reservoirs for energy, mainly sun and wind, considering the execution efficiency compared to the other strong contributor in hydro power. The renewable sources do make up to fill the gaps in supply but are still unreliable considering the uncertainty and unavailability to mark capacity. This has shifted the focus on a finding ways and means of storing energy, already a teething concern in the larger energy scenario.

THE CURRENT SCENARIO

The solar power industry has grown strongly making way for the real market, post subsidies, owing to steep fall in the prices internationally. Various states in India have shown encouraging adoption trends for solar energy, however considering the challenges in feeding extra power to grid and the limited solar hours in a day, a complete shift to solar looks unlikely. Considering the challenges scalability of solar plant remains a difficult proposition. The concept of a micro grid in rural areas, is still a proposition that is linked to grid power, when considering uninterrupted access to power. So it becomes inevitable to seek and develop efficient storage mechanisms to withstand the shift from conventional to the non-conventional sources of power.

The contemporary technology in energy storage revolves around electrochemical and electrical methods. Electrochemical methods make up the chunk on the energy storage systems in operations in the renewable energy ecosystems. For solar energy, the technology is available with batteries to store the energy; the real challenge being the size and cost. More efficient Li-ion batteries have entered the commercial markets, however have challenged the system developers with the pricing, making large systems commercially unviable compared to the conventional sources. Research has been profound in this area of energy storage, however commercial acceptability always remains a challenge. Likewise, the E-vehicle industry has fast adapted the fuel cells and the efficiencies-of-scale are ready to be transferred to the consumers.

IMPORTANCE OF ENERGY STORAGE

In a country like India, the diverse geography has resulted in limited grid-connectivity. Even today many rural areas are out of the reach of the national grid. Renewable sources of energy like solar have come as a harbinger of hope for such regions. Where solar allows easy last mile access, there are also obvious limitation surrounding energy storage. Reliable energy storage facility that are also low on maintenance, can help in stabilizing the grid. India’s focus towards country wide solarization is the primary driver making energy storage industry development a necessity.