ENERGYSTORAGE
efficient PV system could be capable of meeting all its energy needs itself. However, the current practice is to inject all of the PV energy produced into the local electricity network, to be sold to the local utility. Electricity is then imported from the network to satisfy the household’s demand.
In the near future, it is expected that households will become energy autonomous, producing and consuming their own electricity, with the role of energy storage being to store any excess PV energy until it is needed. Effectively, this will require ‘time-shifting’ of the PV energy produced during the day, peaking at noon, to make it available on demand. This will both maximise local consumption and enhance the efficiency of the PV system. Only surplus energy would be fed back into the grid, for which the owner of the PV system might be remunerated at a higher tariff during peak demand periods. The indications are that future legislation in Europe will favour this type of ‘self- consumption’, especially as the clear indication of the change in energy value and availability throughout the day will encourage households to adopt a much more energy conscious attitude.
Security of supply
In addition to helping the shift towards self- consumption, energy storage can also increase security of supply while making individual consumers less dependent on the grid. This will help to stimulate the development of energy self- sufficient houses and buildings and contribute to the continuous growth of PV as part of the global energy mix.
For utilities, the main benefit of on-grid energy storage is that it will reduce the peak load on their grid while at the same time making PV a source of predictable, dispatchable power that they can call on when needed. There is also the potential to defer costly grid upgrades needed to meet increasing demands for power.
The anticipated implementation of smart metering and real time pricing will enhance the use of demand side management techniques and serve as a major tool to help balance load versus demand in future distribution networks. With such market mechanisms in place, end users can play an active role in optimizing energy consumption whilst maximizing the ROI (return on investment) of their PV system. Energy storage enables them to
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