Comparative Analysis of Energy Storage for Photovoltaics: Electrical vs Virtual

摘要

The recent successful deployment of 100+ MWhr battery in South Australia by Tesla to solve grid problems with the intermittent generation of renewables places an economic stake in the ground for energy storage. Virtual energy storage at the Bucknell University Residential Microgrid testbed has demonstrated that multiple kWhrs of electricity can be successfully shifted during utility heating and cooling peaks at a fraction of the cost of batteries. While load management and pre-cooling and pre-heating of residential dwellings have been discussed historically as potential solutions to intermittent generation from photovoltaics (PV), our work in a live test bed definitively demonstrates that load shifting can be the electrical equivalent of battery energy storage while maintaining occupant comfort and satisfaction. It is our hope to reinvigorate the discussion about these options because they are not only more economic than physical electrochemical batteries but they represent a much more sustainable pathway to meet utility near term electricity storage needs.