Overview of energy storage applications

Sandia National Laboratories has been studying Energy Storage Systems since the late 1970s. Sandia started by applying their defense program battery experience to larger stationary systems, eventually joining in the formation of the Utility Battery Group which has since evolved into the Energy Storage Association. Sandia's role, as a Department of Energy funded program is to look ahead at emerging technologies, perform early R and D and identify applications for Energy Storage Systems that offer significant benefit to the nation's electricity providers and users. In order to identify applications of energy storage, a two-phase Opportunities Analysis was conceptualized in FY94. Phase 1 of the project was completed and published in 1995 (SAND94-2605). Phase 2 of the project is an extension of Phase 1 to reexamine the identified applications in the dynamic environment of today. In a preliminary assessment of national benefits, SNL estimated that generation and transmission applications of storage could represent $17.2B in national benefits. In Phase 1 of the Opportunities Analysis, the T and D benefits were found to be significantly higher than previous estimates Phase 2 of the study, which began in late 1998, includes a refinement of the technical and economic understanding of the role of energy storage in the utility industry given the changing nature of the electricity provider industry. This is work in progress and current information is insufficient to estimate market size with a high degree of confidence, especially from a system supplier's perspective. Activity in Phase 2 has so far been primarily focused on the need to re-characterize the near and long-term utility application requirements for energy storage