Storage Investment Research Articles

Pricing method of shared energy storage bias insurance service based on large number theorem

Under the goal of “double carbon”, energy storage is gradually recognized by the society as a means to adjust the output deviation of new energy sources. However, the development of energy storage industry is limited due to the high cost and unclear revenue model of energy storage batteries. Based on this, this paper proposes a business model in which shared energy storage operators provide bias insurance services for new energy sources. Firstly, based on the perspective of commercial insurance, the business model of the shared energy storage operator providing deviation insurance service is designed; secondly, based on the law of large numbers and the actuarial theory of insurance; and finally, the validity of the model is verified through calculation examples, and the feasibility of the proposed business model is also proved. The research results show that compared with the installed capacity of shared energy storage deviation insurance mode reduces 81.57 % compared with new energy storage, and the insurance cost of unit installed capacity of new energy station saves 71.07 % compared with the cost of self-built energy storage cost and deviation assessment cost, which greatly improves the energy storage utilization efficiency and the economic benefits of energy storage operators. The insurance, a financial product explored in this paper, enriches the profit model of energy storage, provides a feasible path for energy storage investors to lock in profits in advance, helps to stimulate the enthusiasm of energy storage investment, and promote the development of China's new energy and energy storage industry.

Merchant and regulated storage investment in energy and reserve markets: A Stackelberg game

AbstractWith large‐scale integration of renewable generation, energy storage is expected to play an important role in providing flexibility to energy systems. In this paper, the authors construct a trilevel Stackelberg game model to study the co‐investment of merchant and regulated storage in energy and reserve markets. The upper‐level problem is a profit‐maximizing storage investment problem with a desired rate‐of‐return solved by a merchant investor. In the middle‐level problem, the system operator (SO) makes regulated storage investment decisions to minimize system cost. In the lower‐level problem, the SO clears energy and reserve markets. The proposed model captures interactions of regulated and merchant storage investment. Also, it clarifies how different ownership structures of storage influence merchant storage profitability and system cost structures in different capital cost of storage investment and wind penetration level scenarios. The numerical results conducted on a 6‐bus illustrative example and the IEEE 24‐bus Reliability test case validate the proposed model. The results show that both regulated and merchant storage can increase social welfare, and social welfare remains almost the same under different ownership structures of storage.

The role of electricity market design for energy storage in cost-efficient decarbonization

The role of electricity market design for energy storage in cost-efficient decarbonization

Siting and sizing of energy storage for renewable generation utilization with multi-stage dispatch under uncertainty: A tri-level model and decomposition approach

For grids suffering from large-scale renewable generation curtailment, the reasonable allocation of energy storage can smooth renewable generation fluctuation for better utilization. This paper analyzes the optimal non-profit planning of energy storage in a grid rich in renewable generation from the perspective of third-party investors. First of all, to model the prediction errors of wind and solar output, a multi-stage scenario tree of intraday uncertainty is established to describe the stochastic output of wind and photovoltaics. In addition, scenario reduction techniques and nonanticipativity constraints are adopted to realize multi-stage optimization. Second, aimed to improve social welfare with an acceptable cost, a tri-level optimization model is established to describe storage siting and sizing, storage dispatch, and market clearing respectively to reach a high level of renewable generation utilization. Furthermore, Karush–Kuhn–Tucker conditions and linearization techniques are used to reform the tri-level model into a linear bi-level one. Third, a decomposition algorithm and a differential cut are proposed to solve the bi-level problem. The optimum is gradually approached via iterating by adding differential cuts and integer cuts. Finally, the model and method are verified based on a region of the HRP-38 system. The results show that storage investment aimed at social welfare can effectively achieve a much higher goal of renewable generation utilization than individual profit-seeking storage investment.

The global status of carbon capture and storage: ambition to action

As the global response to climate change advances from ambition to action, the past few years have witnessed unprecedented levels of investments in carbon capture and storage (CCS), with the pipeline of commercial facilities continuing to grow as the technology becomes increasingly competitive and commercial in many countries. Key trends underpinning this momentum include the rise of the network project model enabling the use of shared infrastructure, the incorporation of CCS in private sector investment strategies, ESG (environmental, social and governance) considerations, green taxonomies and the industrial-scale production of hydrogen to meet demand. With CCS receiving increased awareness in international climate policy negotiations, a renewed focus on developing supportive policy, legal and regulatory mechanisms by national governments are also driving CCS deployment. Established leaders and early-movers in CCS-relevant policy, such as the United States, European Union and the UK, continue to maintain or strengthen their positions by allocating significant levels of funding for tax credits, subsidies and grants. Similarly, countries in the Asia-Pacific region, notably China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, are also advancing policies to incentivise deployment, including through the establishment of CCS-specific legal and regulatory frameworks. The outlook for CCS is optimistic, however, current deployment rates fall far short of what is required to keep global warming below 1.5 or even 2 degrees. Further action is needed to unlock the full potential of CCS and realise the Paris climate goals.

13C labeling unravels carbon dynamics in banana between mother plant, sucker and corm under drought stress.

Banana is a perennial crop and typically consists of a mother plant and one or more suckers that will serve as the next generation. Suckers are photosynthetically active, but also receive photo-assimilates from the mother plant. While drought stress is the most important abiotic constraint to banana cultivation, its effect on suckers or banana mats as a whole remains unknown. To investigate whether parental support to suckers is altered under drought stress and to determine the photosynthetic cost to the parental plant, we conducted a 13C labeling experiment. We labeled banana mother plants with 13CO2 and traced the label up to two weeks after labeling. This was done under optimal and drought-stressed conditions in plants with and without suckers. We retrieved label in the phloem sap of the corm and sucker as soon as 24 hours after labeling. Overall, 3.1 ± 0.7% of label assimilated by the mother plant ended up in the sucker. Allocation to the sucker seemed to be reduced under drought stress. The absence of a sucker did not enhance the growth of the mother plant; instead, plants without suckers had higher respiratory losses. Furthermore, 5.8 ± 0.4% of the label was allocated to the corm. Sucker presence and drought stress each led to an increase in starch accumulation in the corm, but when both stress and a sucker were present, the amount was severely reduced. Furthermore, the second to fifth fully open leaves were the most important source of photo-assimilates in the plant, but the two younger developing leaves assimilated the same amount of carbon as the four active leaves combined. They exported and imported photo-assimilates simultaneously, hence acting as both source and sink. 13C labeling has allowed us to quantify source and sink strengths of different plant parts, as well as the carbon fluxes between them. We conclude that drought stress and sucker presence, respectively causing a reduction in supply and an increase in carbon demand, both increased the relative amount of carbon allocated to storage tissues. Their combination, however, led to insufficient availability of assimilates and hence a reduced investment in long-term storage and sucker growth.

Intracellular carbon storage by microorganisms is an overlooked pathway of biomass growth

The concept of biomass growth is central to microbial carbon (C) cycling and ecosystem nutrient turnover. Microbial biomass is usually assumed to grow by cellular replication, despite microorganisms’ capacity to increase biomass by synthesizing storage compounds. Resource investment in storage allows microbes to decouple their metabolic activity from immediate resource supply, supporting more diverse microbial responses to environmental changes. Here we show that microbial C storage in the form of triacylglycerides (TAGs) and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) contributes significantly to the formation of new biomass, i.e. growth, under contrasting conditions of C availability and complementary nutrient supply in soil. Together these compounds can comprise a C pool 0.19 ± 0.03 to 0.46 ± 0.08 times as large as extractable soil microbial biomass and reveal up to 279 ± 72% more biomass growth than observed by a DNA-based method alone. Even under C limitation, storage represented an additional 16–96% incorporation of added C into microbial biomass. These findings encourage greater recognition of storage synthesis as a key pathway of biomass growth and an underlying mechanism for resistance and resilience of microbial communities facing environmental change.

Charging private electric vehicles solely by photovoltaics: A battery-free direct-current microgrid with distributed charging strategy

Charging electric vehicles (EV) by photovoltaics (PV) contributes to achieving carbon neutrality, but puts pressure on urban renewal, e.g., large investments in distribution grid upgrade and energy storage (ES). To solve this problem, we proposed a charging system aiming at providing intermittent but free solar charging service for private EV drivers to cover their daily intra-urban transportation demand. It is a battery-free direct-current (DC) microgrid with a distributed charging strategy, taking variable DC bus voltage as a control signal. The system was optimized and tested by simulation on an office building with 80 private EVs. We performed a system performance comparison, when achieving the same guarantee level of EV use with the parking shed fully cover by PV. A 10-kW charger (DC Level 1) with the strategy can take the role of a 3.5-kW charger (AC Level 2) with ES (26.0 kWh/parking space) to coordinate PV generation and charging load. Furthermore, connecting the system with the adjacent building can increase the annual solar self-consumption rate from 33.3% to 67.9%, and avoid the distribution grid upgrade (average 5.6 kVA/charger). The discounted payback time of this building-connected system decreases from 9.4 to 4.5 years, compared with a conventional solar charging station.

Export Potential of Ham Yen Oranges

This study assessed the situation and analyzed the factors affecting the export potential of Ham Yen orange. This study conducted a survey using the questionnaire for 50 people, who are stakeholders in the value chain of Ham Yen oranges. The study results show that Tuyen Quang province has many potentials and advantages to develop export-oriented Ham Yen orange production. Specifically on area, productivity, and output of oranges to increase rapidly. Oranges are good quality with famous brands. The selling price is low, ensuring competitiveness; and there are many natural – economic-social factors favorable for the development of export-oriented Ham Yen orange production. However, the study also identified many difficulties and challenges. In order to develop Ham Yen orange production to meet export requirements. It is necessary to implement synchronous solutions like strongly shifting the area of ​​orange cultivation in the direction of meeting standards as follows VietGAP, organic oranges, EuroGAP, GlobalGAP ...; Application of science and technology in the stage of varieties, planting, care, harvesting and transportation of oranges. Investment in transport, infrastructure, irrigation, wholesale market, cold storage, and factory for preliminary processing, packing, and exporting products. Supporting capital, market information, training, and transfer of science and technology to orange growers; would strengthen linkages in the growth and market of their fruit, especially with enterprises that purchase, preserve, process, and export fruits.

A Two-Stage Stackelberg Game Wind-Storage Planning Model Considering a Bus Carbon Intensity Incentive Mechanism

In the trend of power system decarbonization, wind power and energy storage planning studies are in full swing. Incentives for wind power and energy storage development are important research topics. However, most studies have proposed incentives from an energy perspective, and few focus directly on incentives from a carbon perspective. To this end, this paper proposes a novel unified bus carbon intensity incentive mechanism from the carbon perspective. A two-stage Stackelberg game wind storage planning model that considers the proposed carbon incentive mechanism is constructed. In the first stage, the carbon flow of the entire system is obtained following economic dispatch based on the carbon emission flow theory. In the second stage, a Stackelberg game wind-storage planning model is constructed to model the game between the power generation company and the power grid company. Through simulation analyses of these cases, the proposed incentive mechanism can effectively guide the construction of wind turbines and energy storage at the best buses. Additionally, by comparing the proposed incentive with the existing incentive mechanisms, this paper finds that the proposed incentive mechanism can achieve a higher carbon reduction effect with a similar total investment in wind turbines and energy storage.

China’s role in scaling up energy storage investments

Accelerating the planning and development of a new power system that is more renewable energy-based is a strategic priority of achieving “dual carbon” goals (peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and becoming carbon neutral before 2060) in China. The large-scale development of energy storage technologies will address China’s flexibility challenge in the power grid, enabling the high penetration of renewable sources. This article intends to fill the existing research gap in energy storage technologies through the lens of policy and finance. Results indicate that policy uncertainties in renewable energy might undermine domestic investor confidence in energy storage technologies, while insufficient economic incentives may crowd out private sector participation. Drawing on international best practices, blended concessional finance, supported by development partners, can play a significant role in closing energy storage financing gaps in China and in countries of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). To deliver on China’s domestic and international climate commitments, this article makes three policy recommendations: (1) moving forward with a carbon pricing agenda that incentivizes energy storage investments in China; (2) tapping the potential of the domestic capital market to close financing gaps for novel energy storage technologies; (3) scaling up energy storage supply chains in BRI countries through multilateral cooperation.

Spillovers of underground gas storage facilities and their role in the sustainable energy markets: assessment and policy recommendations

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the construction and operation of underground gas storage (UGS) facilities, under the prism of the recent rise in energy prices. The focus is on developing energy markets interconnected with gas producers through pipelines and has access to liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in parallel.Design/methodology/approachThrough a focal market in Europe, the authors estimate the economic value for both stakeholders and consumers by introducing a methodology, appropriately adjusted to the specificities of the domestic energy market. The Transmission System Operator, the Energy Market Regulator, the Energy Exchange and Eurostat are the main data sources for our calculations and conclusions.FindingsThe authors investigate the perspectives of UGS facilities, identifying financial challenges considering specific energy market conditions which are barriers to new storage facilities. Nevertheless, the energy price rocketing coupled with the security of gas supply issues, which arose in autumn 2021 and were continuing in 2022 due to the Russia–Ukraine crisis, highlight that gas storage remains, at least for the midterm, at the core of European priorities.Originality/valueThe paper emphasizes on developing markets toward green transition, proposing tangible policy recommendations regarding gas storage. A new methodological approach is proposed, appropriate to quantify the economic value of UGSs in such markets. Last, a mix of energy policy options is suggested which include regulatory reforms, support schemes and new energy infrastructures that could make the gas storage investments economically viable.

Phasing out coal power in a developing country context: Insights from Vietnam

At the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 26th Conference of the Parties (COP 26) in November 2021, Vietnam pledged to phase out unabated coal power by the 2040s or as soon as possible thereafter. Achieving this will require major efforts. This study investigates the drivers for Vietnam's coal power phase-out decision, barriers to Vietnam achieving a successful unabated thermal coal phase out, and potential strategies to achieve the pledge. To this end, a survey of 43 experts from government agencies, research institutions, civil society, and industry was carried out, supplemented by 23 follow-up interviews. The results indicate that ambition to attract international support for green growth initiatives in a context of limited financing options for new coal power projects appears to have been the primary driver for the decision. Key barriers include concerns about electricity shortages and incomplete regulatory frameworks for new clean power options. Recommended strategies include: 1) reforming regulations to facilitate investments in clean energy, electricity transmission, and energy storage; 2) continuing political prioritisation; and 3) building broad-based support from the community and enterprises. Vietnam's case is relevant to other developing countries and beyond.

Solar‐powered cold‐storage and agrifood market modernization in Nigeria

AbstractModern cooling technologies that utilize renewable energy sources have been increasingly recognized as promising tools to address various challenges emerging in progressively complex agrifood systems in developing countries. Knowledge gaps about the actual impacts of these technologies in developing countries remain, especially in Africa south of the Sahara (SSA). This study fills this knowledge gap by providing evidence from the evaluation of recent interventions in northeast Nigeria in which seven small solar‐powered cold storages were installed across seven horticulture markets. Combinations of difference‐in‐difference (DID) and variants of propensity‐score‐based methods suggest that cold storage significantly increased horticulture sales volumes and revenues of market agents. Back‐of‐the‐envelope calculations indicate that increased net revenues for market agents may be sufficiently large to recoup cold storage investments and operating costs within a reasonable time frame. Using cold storage also reduced the share of food loss. It lengthened the products' shelf‐life while raising prices received by market agents and farmers, which were associated with improved product quality, expanded value‐adding activities by market agents, and increased use of advance payments.

Optimal capacity of variable-speed pumped storage for wind power consumption based on double-layer stochastic programming

Configuring a certain capacity of energy storage for the power system can effectively improve the reliability of the power supply and the level of wind power consumption. This paper takes pumped storage investment cost and wind power consumption demand as the optimization goal, realizes the coordinated operation of pumped storage units and thermal power units, and considers the uncertainty of wind power and load, the multi-timescale characteristics of different types of units and load demand response, and establishes a multi-timescale pumped storage capacity optimization model based on stochastic programming. The model consists of inner and outer layers. The outer layer is investment decision-making, which decides the allocation of pumped storage capacity. The inner layer is for optimization decision-making, and the system optimization operation is carried out in three stages: day-ahead short-term optimization, intraday ultra short-term optimization, and real-time optimization. An example of a typical scenario is established, and the planning results verify the effectiveness of the proposed model and method. The thermal-wind-hydro power system's total cost decreases first and then increases with the increase in the installed capacity of the pumped storage, and the curtailment rate gradually decreases. The total cost increases faster when the pumped-storage installed capacity is larger than optimal. For a pumped-storage power station of the same capacity, variable-speed pumped storage is better than fixed speed pumped storage in reducing the wind curtailment rate. The main reason is that its output is continuously adjustable under the condition of the variable-speed water pump, which is especially suitable for energy storage at night when wind power is high.

Optimal allocation method of energy storage for integrated renewable generation plants based on power market simulation

This study designs and proposes a method for evaluating the configuration of energy storage for integrated renewable generation plants in the power spot market, which adopts a two-level optimization model of “system simulation + plant optimization”. The first step is “system simulation” which is using the power market simulation model to obtain the initial nodal marginal price and curtailment of the integrated renewable generation plant. The second step is “plant optimization” which is using the operation optimization model of the integrated renewable generation plant to optimize the charge-discharge operation of energy storage. In the third step, “system simulation” is conducted again, and the combined power of renewable and energy storage inside the plant is brought into the system model and simulated again for 8,760 h of power market year-round to quantify and compare the power generation and revenue of the integrated renewable generation plant after applying energy storage. In the case analysis of the provincial power spot market, an empirical analysis of a 1 GW wind-solar-storage integrated generation plant was conducted. The results show that the economic benefit of energy storage is approximately proportional to its capacity and that there is a slowdown in the growth of economic benefits when the capacity is too large. In the case that the investment benefit of energy storage only considers the income of electric energy-related incomes and does not consider the income of capacity mechanism and auxiliary services, the income of energy storage cannot fulfill the economic requirements of energy storage investment.

Phytoplankton and macroinvertebrate diversity and eco-exergy responses to rainfall diverge in semiarid reservoirs

Rainfall is a variable that drives community structure in aquatic ecosystems and is even more important in dry regions. Most studies have evaluated how the seasonal variation of rainfall influences aquatic communities. However, studies that evaluate the influence of spatial gradients of rainfall on aquatic organisms are scarce, especially regarding biological diversity and thermodynamic information. This study evaluated the response from diversity metrics and thermodynamic indices (eco-exergy and specific eco-exergy) in phytoplankton and benthic macroinvertebrate communities in 13 reservoirs distributed along a spatial gradient of rainfall in the Brazilian semiarid region. We hypothesized that the phytoplankton and benthic macroinvertebrate communities are congruent in response to the spatial gradient of rainfall in terms of diversity and thermodynamic indices in semiarid reservoirs. We expect to find higher values of biomass and the eco-exergy index under lower rainfall. To test our hypothesis, generalized linear models (GLMs) were used to relate the effects of rainfall changes on community structure. The eco-exergy and specific eco-exergy indices of the phytoplankton community were positively related to rainfall and reflected a greater investment in biomass production and genetic information (e.g., Chlorophyceae). As for the macroinvertebrate community, the reduction in rainfall promoted a greater investment in energy storage by generalist organisms (e.g., Melanoides tuberculata and some genera of Chironomidae). Thus, for a holistic evaluation of ecosystem health, the joint analysis of thermodynamic indices associated with an assessment of taxonomic composition, diversity and taxonomic richness is important, providing a more complete and multifaceted response. Additionally, thermodynamic indices better reflected the changes in both aquatic communities in response to rainfall, and were more sensitive than the diversity and richness indices. Consequently, the thermodynamic indices represent an efficient tool in the assessment of aquatic community responses to climate change, even when these communities respond in an opposite manner.

Guest editorial: Application of cloud energy storage systems in power systems

Guest editorial: Application of cloud energy storage systems in power systems

The Economic Influence of Energy Storage Construction in the Context of New Power Systems

The increase in the proportion of renewable energy in a new power system requires supporting the construction of energy storage to provide support for a safe and stable power supply. In this paper, the computable general equilibrium (CGE) quantitative assessment model is used coupled with a carbon emission module to comprehensively analyze the benefits and costs of energy storage construction from a macro perspective. Taking Zhejiang Province as an example, the investment in and construction of energy storage under the new power system of the 14th Five-Year Plan will slow down the economic growth of Zhejiang Province to a slight extent, but this investment and construction can improve the income level of residents and further redistribute the income structure. At the same time, energy storage investment and construction are conducive to building a clean, low-carbon, and efficient power system. The construction of energy storage can smooth out changes in electricity demand, while enhancing the electricity consumption of the residential sector, making the core sector’s electricity consumption more efficient. In addition, the construction of energy storage in the new power system has a positive effect on carbon emission reduction in Zhejiang Province, with the CO2 growth rate being significantly lower than the baseline scenario.

Drivers and implications of combined investment in renewables and energy storage in the residential sector

AbstractResidential consumers are increasingly combining renewables with energy storage systems. However, changes in policies and support for these technologies may impact their adoption and the outlook for the energy industry. In this paper, we consider a grid‐connected household's problem of determining the optimal capacities of these two technologies as well as the battery operating policy that minimizes its electricity costs when faced with time‐of‐use electricity prices and sellback credits. We identify the impact of household characteristics, technological progress, and electricity pricing policies on the levels of investment in these two technologies. Furthermore, we supplement our analytical results with a case study of two U.S. cities and identify policy guidelines for the design of a technology subsidy program aimed at stimulating the adoption of these technologies and the ensuing implications for residential customers, the environment, and grid reliability. Our paper has implications for several stakeholders in practice on (i) how the adoption of renewables is affected by energy storage (and vice versa) and (ii) how electricity pricing, technological progress, and subsidy policies can shape the adoption of both technologies.