Grid energy storage devices

The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into Energy storage devices which will transform the way the world utilises, controls and dispatches electrical energy in the near future. With the increasing amount of renewable energy being injected into transmission and distribution grids and the rapid uptake of rooftop solar photo-voltaic installations in households, energy storage is unlocking a new market in renewable energy and enabling new opportunity. Government subsidies are incentivising consumers to invest heavily in new and emerging renewable technologies. This trend is expected to overflow into the electricity transmission and distribution arena in the form of Grid-Scale Battery Storage; in the pursuit of greater flexibility, control and utilization of electrical power. Energy storage has been in use for many years with the most common being pump storage hydroelectricity. Emerging technologies making headlines and gaining momentum on the transmission and distribution electricity grids are large-scale battery storage, flywheels, compressed air and hydrogen. The introduction and application of cost effective grid-scale battery storage will be a game-changer for the distribution and control of electrical energy.