Keeping Up With Energy Storage: Key Projects Around The World

Only recently, it was technological challenges that were holding back energy storage options. Now, it's keeping up.New systems and technologies have reshaped how energy storage is influencing the future of energy across the country and around the world. In every industry and at any scale, energy storage is emerging as a major priority. Over the past five years, batteries have improved in leaps and bounds, and the result has been a renewed interest and investment in everything from residential, industrial, even municipal grid systems tagging in batteries to aid their production efforts. It's worth taking a look at some of the biggest opportunities. In Australia, a gold mine has tagged in ESS as a part of its energy picture. The Genex Power project is utilizing wind, solar, and ESS to power a remote abandoned gold mine and turn it into the world's first pumped hydro station. Using captured renewable energy and storage, the plan is to use the mine as a hydropower plant augmented with nearly 3 million solar panels. The total energy output is expected to be around 250 mWh for eight hours, with a start-up time of just 30 seconds.Closer to home, Utah announced a 1,000-megawatt project to store renewable energy in the heart of the state. The project will rely on four different types of batteries, offering a neat glimpse at how different materials and systems offer unique advantages. They'll use renewable hydrogen, compressed air energy storage, large-scale flow batteries, and solid oxide fuel cells in the project, with all renewable hydrogen batteries stored in five massive salt caverns that have already been earmarked.Of course, most facilities face more familiar challenges, and they've addressed those challenges by adopted new technologies and some old tools, too. Peak power demands don't just spike consumption; they also drive up rates to astronomic levels. Businesses like Channel Lumber have brought in ESS batteries to reduce their kilowatt rate by 20%, with an annual savings of over $50,000.It's a great time to look at your energy future. With an energy audit, we can determine what energy storage options work best for your business and help you take control of your energy environment for years to come.