The Role of Storage Devices in Distributed Electricity Networks and Renewable Energy Systems

摘要

Distributed energy (DE) has become almost a catch-all phrase for anything that is (1) smaller than a "central" generating station and high-voltage transmission line; (2) non-utility, at least the regulated variety; and/or (3) operates at voltages characteristic of the electric distribution portion of the transmission and distribution grid. DE, in this author's opinion, represents an ideological shift from a highly regulated, socialized approach to electricity supply to a consumer-oriented approach that stresses individual responsibility. Analogies can be made to health care and other services: A minimum level of service and quality will be guaranteed, if you will, by the regulated model to all consumers (see figure 1). Beyond this, individual consumers will be responsible for identifying what their reliability, security, and price needs are, and then paying for them. The identified services may still be provided by a utility or utility-like entity, and multiple DE systems could be networked and operated and managed as a micro- or mini-grid, but the consumer will ultimately be more and more responsible for his or her "electricity destiny".