One of the biggest problems with the efforts to use renewable energy to produce large amounts of the energy consumed on a daily 
basis has been its inability to reliably supply power at the times it is most needed. This can and will be addressed with the installation of battery systems that allow households, businesses and energy network providers to store renewable energy for use at night or in peak periods.
Solar panels convert the sun’s rays into electricity during the day with maximum generation being between the hours of 11 to 3pm. Unfortunately, for most people unless you are home during the day 80% of this power gets fed back into the grid for very little return. Likewise, although energy generation through wind is now very efficient and cost effective the times when wind produces energy can be intermittent.
Batteries also reduce the amount of electricity that is exported to the grid from rooftop solar during the middle of the day. This has the capacity to significantly reduce variability and stabilise grid supply.
Households and businesses already attach battery storage to their clean energy systems. Now is the time to grow the industry, encourage the take-up of storage and help make Australia a renewable energy leader. With public interest high, now is the time for a targeted, five-year support package to drive down costs and put battery storage in reach of every household and business.
Battery storage will allow consumers to lower costs and use more of their own renewable energy. Battery storage has many other benefits including the enabling off-grid communities and facilities, utility scale storage to assist in grid management and the use of electric vehicles as storage. Household imports from the grid may increase during the night and reduce during the peak when battery storage is used.
Battery storage can reduce network peaks and troughs by storing electricity during off-peak times and discharging it during the peak. This can assist network providers to have a more balanced electricity supply without having to provide large amounts of electricity that will never be used, just in case it is needed. Batteries have the capacity to assist network ancillary services and act as a source of back-up power for the grid.
Following are some of the problems that the electricity grid now faces and some of the solutions that batteries will provide.
PROBLEM: Intermittent Generation
Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind can lead to an intermittency of supply which can lead to instability in the grid. Peak renewable energy generation doesn’t always match with peak consumption.
SOLUTION: Battery Energy Storage
Safe, reliable battery storage can smooth production and time shift renewably generated energy. Energy produced in the middle of the day can be stored in batteries and used during peak times.
PROBLEM: Infrastructure Congestion
Like our road systems the electricity grid experiences costly congestion at times and in areas of peak load where peak demand often creates pressure when transmission demands exceed distribution capability.
SOLUTION: Battery Energy Storage
Strategically placing safe, reliable battery storage in strategic locations or establishing local micro-grids, reduces the strain on distribution systems and reduces the need for costly upgrades.
PROBLEM: Inefficient Generation
The need for power plants to meet peak demands are expensive, inefficient, and dirty with excess energy produced to cater for peak baseload generation.
SOLUTION: Battery Energy Storage
Utilities and customers can use safe reliable energy storage batteries to store renewable energy produced off peak. By discharging during peak hours, batteries reduce the need for new dirty, inefficient peaking generation, reducing carbon emissions.
PROBLEM: Uneven Demand Supply
The power supply industry suffers from one fundamental problem: without cost-effective storage, electricity supply must instantaneously match demand. This results in a costly and underutilized electricity grid.
SOLUTION: Battery Energy Storage
Buffer demand spikes using battery energy storage and meet growing needs with the infrastructure we already have. This will mitigate the need for costly infrastructure upgrades while decreasing environmental impact?
PROBLEM: Grid Supply Vulnerability
Failures at any critical node along a transmission line could disrupt downstream electricity supply to homes and businesses. This can result in power outages lasting from hours to weeks.
SOLUTION: Battery Energy Storage
Safe, reliable battery storage can be part of highly reliable micro-grids producing localised energy supply. These local micro-grids can ensure a secure power source for most critical loads.
If you would like to be part of the renewable energy solution by utilising quality renewable energy products and would like to know more about getting safe, reliable battery storage for your own home, business or micro-grid visit us at http://quantum.GridEdge.com.au