Abstract
Radical changes in production paradigms are affecting electric systems. This is due to Renewable Energy Sources (RES) introduction, which changed production from being centralized and dispatchable, to be more decentralized and unpredictable. Further transformations are expected as the RES share into electric grids will increase. RES further development will likely rely mostly on additional solar PV capacity, then relevant energy quantities will be needed to be shifted from day hours to evening and night hours. Such “Load Shifting” could be performed with Electric Energy Storage (EES) technologies. Few technologies suited for this are already commercially available, whereas others have been proposed. In this paper, the EES technologies suited for load shifting are reviewed with a focus on economic costs. After that, current and future EES economic feasibility are assessed by using Italian hourly energy prices from 2018. Since EES resulted to be currently uneconomic, the minimum price modification required to make EES feasible is calculated.
Highlights
Nowadays, electric systems are changing due to nondispatchable Renewable Energy Sources (RES) introduction, mostly wind energy and solar PV
RESs are prioritized on energy markets, they are superseding traditional power plants
Suited sites for Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES) are already exploited [2] and no new storage technologies have been deployed to date
Summary
Electric systems are changing due to nondispatchable RES introduction, mostly wind energy and solar PV. Suited sites for Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES) are already exploited [2] and no new storage technologies have been deployed to date In this situation, as non-dispatchable RESs grow, electric systems might become more and more rigid, up to the point of lacking the flexibility required to be safely operated. The main contributions of the present analysis are: an EES technology review is performed, by including some often-overlooked technologies like PTES and PHES-based systems like Sea Water PHES (SWPHES) and Underground PHES (UPHES); costs are reported and used for assessing economic feasibility of each EES technology in a realistic environment represented by an Italian case study Based on this estimation, a recommendation on which technologies are the most the suited ones from the economic point of view is provided
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
