It used to be thought that electricity could not easily be stored on a large scale. As a result, supply and demand had to remain in balance in real time. The availability of newer battery technologies alleviates the problem of achieving this match. Energy storage systems provide fast acting energy buffers and are one of the major keys to system flexibility. They have the unique property that they can absorb energy as well as delivering it, so that they discharge to supply increasing loads and charge to absorb energy off-load from the generators when the demand suddenly decreases. Conventional rotary electricity generators can only provide energy—they cannot absorb it.
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