The Failing traditional grid - Benefits of Energy Storage
The current ongoing South African Energy Crisis emanated during the later months of 2007. With its widespread rolling blackouts, sagaciously referred to as “Load-Shedding”, numerous articles have since been published, deliberating the feasibility of long-term energy solutions to the ongoing challenges of the “Load-Shedding” narrative.
Despite the intended solutions being debated, very little has been accomplished as the electricity supply continues to be insufficient and widespread blackouts remain the norm, bringing with it no reprieve.
With an anticipated increase in the global population growth by an estimated additional two billion people by 2050, the global energy demand will too, rise accordingly.
The COVID-19 pandemic actively revealed the current and impending escalation of the numerous energy crises being faced on a global scale. It also illustrated the inherent demand and requirement for energy to fulfill the essential services such as electricity for refrigeration, operation of water supply pumps, shelter and medical services.
COVID-19 has further accelerated new ways of working through automation and digitalization. Companies workforces are now able to work virtually and at distance. As households evolve to serve as both workstations and residential properties, it has become increasingly important, to have the necessary grid stability required to enable companies have their workforce work effectively as well as equip companies to maintain better business continuity.
Global workplace analytics have estimated that by the end of 2021 between 25-30% of the global workforce will be working from home. The sharing of renewable energy sources and usage of energy storage appears to be the option most apt for the deployment of energy system flexibility.
Without discounting new technologies that are flexible enough to be deployed on a large scale through grid-connected utility-scale projects, one should also bear in mind that the implementation thereof in an already fragile economy, will emerge itself far beyond 2030. Furthermore, the State of Renewable Energy in South Africa’s (SRESA) 2015 report recorded that smaller, stand-alone projects could potentially and directly benefit households, farmers, communities, and businesses, thereby contributing towards the goal of universal access to modern energy services.
The above events have made it relevant for Eskom and South Africa’s utilities sector to consider overcoming such challenges.
The present emerging consensus is that energy storage is a pivotal technology that will inevitably assist to reshape the energy sector. The impact of energy storage is far-reaching, as it addresses the issue of renewable energy’s penetration and fundamentally alters the longstanding relationship between utilities and its customers.
The Smart Grid enables users to selectively adjust energy consumption patterns thereby allowing them the advantageous benefit derived from the energy storage technologies. Energy storage further facilitates the management of the increased amounts of renewable energy, which is dependent on the already overly burdened traditional grid.
Although South Africa has shown little initiative to encourage the adoption of energy storage, the storage technologies should be understood in the context of the services and applications it is able to provide which includes the reinstatement of grid operations following a blackout, providing operating reserves.
“It can theoretically be scaled infinitely, all the way up to industrial and utility level…. Our goal is to fundamentally change the way the world uses energy. It sounds crazy, but we want to change the entire energy infrastructure of the world to zero carbon” —
Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, on the Powerwall potential
