Solar Energy Storage

While solar is the fastest-growing energy source in the world, key concerns around solar power?s inherent variability threaten to de-rail that scale-up . Currently, integration of intermittent solar resources into the grid creates added complication to load management, leading some utilities to reject it altogether, while other operators may penalize the producers via rate increases or force solar developers to include storage devices on-site to smooth out power delivery at the point of production. However these efforts at mitigation unfold, it is increasingly clear to parties on all sides that energy storage will be pivotally important in the drive to boost the integration of variable renewable sources into power infrastructures across the globe. Thoughtfully implemented storage technologies can reduce peak demand, improve day-to-day reliability, provide emergency power in case of interrupted generation, reduce consumer and utility costs by easing load balance challenges, decrease emissions, and increase the amount of distributed and renewable energy that makes it into the grid. While energy storage has long been an area of concern for scientists and engineers, there has been no comprehensive single text covering the storage methods available to solar power producers, which leaves a lamentable gap in the literature core to this important field. Solar Energy Storage aims to become the authoritative work on the topic, incorporating contributions from an internationally recognized group of top authors from both industry and academia, focused on providing information from underlying scientific fundamentals to practical applications, and emphasizing the latest technological developments driving this discipline forward.

1. Introduction and overviewBent Sørensen

Part 1. Solar energy storage options2. Solar electric energy storageYulong Ding, Yongliang Li, Chuanping Liu, Ze Sun3. Innovative systems for storage of thermal solar energy in buildingsLingai Luo, Nolwenn le Pierrès4. Assessment of electrical storage systemsF. Rahman, M. Baseer, S. Rehman5. Storage of solar thermal energy with consideration of geographical and climatic boundary conditionsRoman Marx6. Sorption heat storageH. A. Zondag7. Energetic complementarity: hydropower and the possibilities of energy storage in batteries and water reservoirsAlexandre Beluco, Paulo de Souza, Flávio Livi, Johann Caux8. Revitalization of hydro energy: A new approach to storage of solar energyZvonimir Glasnovic, Karmen Margeta

Part 2. Economic assessment of solar storage9. Photovoltaics and storage plants: Efficient capacities in a system viewBenjamin Böcker, Bjarne Steffen, Christoph Weber10. Economics of solar PV systems with storage, in main grid and mini-grid settingsIain MacGill, Muriel WattEnvironmental and social impacts11.Environmental issues associated with solar electric and thermal systems with storageBent Sørensen12.Consumer perceptions of PV systems with energy storageNaoye Abe, Junichiro Ishio, Teppei Katatani, Toshihiro Mukai

Part 3. Special case studies13.Photovoltaic energy storage system for remote small islandsJ. Kaldellis14.Solar thermal energy storage for solar cookersAshmore Mawire15.Isolated and mini-grid solar PV systems: Alternative solutions for providing electricity access in remote areas: Case study from NepalBrijesh Mainali, Ram Dhital

Dr. Sørensen is one of the world’s leading specialists in renewable energy. He has five decades of experience in researching the field, and has published hundreds of monographs, articles in scientific journals, technical reports, and conference contributions. He has received several awards and has been knighted by Her Majesty Queen Margrethe of Denmark.

He has worked at universities in Japan, France, Denmark, Australia and the United States (Berkeley and Yale), has been a consultant to governments and international organizations, a lead author in the IPCC climate assessment recipient of several international prizes and honors.

• Expert contributing authors explain current and emergent storage technologies for solar, thermal, and photovoltaic applications
• Sheds light on the economic status of solar storage facilities, including case studies of the particular challenges that solar energy systems present to remote locations
• Includes information on: chemical storage mechanisms, mechanical storage tactics, pumped hydro, thermal storage, and storage strategies for systems of all sizes—from centralized utilities to distributed generation