In recent decades the cost of wind and solar power generation has dropped dramatically. This is one reason that United States’ Department...
In recent decades the cost of wind and solar power generation has dropped dramatically. This is one reason that United States’ Department of Energy projects that renewable energy will be the fastest-growing US energy source through 2050.
However, it is still relatively expensive to store energy. And since renewable energy generation is not available all the time – it happens when the wind blows or the sun shines – storage is essential.
As a researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, I work with the US federal government and private industry to develop renewable energy storage technologies. In a recent report, researchers at National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimated that the potential exists to increase US renewable energy storage capacity by as much as 3,000% by 2050.
Longer charges
From alkaline batteries for small electronics to lithium-ion batteries for cars and laptops, most people already use batteries in many aspects of their daily lives. But there is still lots of room for growth.
For example, high-capacity batteries with long discharge times – up to 10 hours – could be valuable for storing solar power at night or increasing the range of electric vehicles. Right now there are very few such batteries in use.
However, according to recent projections, upwards of 100 gigawatts’ worth of these batteries will likely be installed by 2050. For...
