As the core support for the development of new energy, energy storage is the core technology of energy conversion and buffering, peak shaving and efficiency improvement, transmission and dispatch, management and application. It runs through all aspects of new energy development and utilization, covering the power supply side, grid side, user side.
Next, the importance of energy storage is analyzed from three aspects: power supply side, grid side, and user side.
Power side
The inherent randomness, intermittency and volatility of renewable energy sources such as wind, light and water have brought many challenges to the power system.
Innate deficiencies can only be made up for by the day after tomorrow. Therefore, the rise and popularization of energy storage technology will reverse the situation that my country is still dominated by thermal power generation. "Renewable energy + energy storage" will become the future focus of the power supply side. Although there are still many problems to be solved, it has become the beginning of historical changes in the energy field.
Grid side
Energy storage can be used as a flexible power supply to achieve peak load regulation and valley filling on the grid side. What is peak shaving and valley filling?
This is a way for the grid side to respond to fluctuations in electricity demand. If you pay attention to the electricity meter at home, you will find that there are small words on the meter, which are "peak", "peak", "flat" and "valley". These words represent different load periods of the power grid. The sharp peak refers to the peak period of electricity consumption, which generally occurs during the day, especially during working hours. The peaceful valley refers to the stable and low period of electricity consumption, usually in the evening and night.
During peak periods of electricity consumption, the power grid may be in short supply. At this time, special measures are needed - peak shaving. As a peak-shaving power supply, energy storage power stations can effectively reduce the peak-valley difference of the power grid and improve equipment utilization and grid stability. At the same time, it can also stabilize the output power of intermittent renewable energy generation such as wind and light, and improve the grid's acceptance capacity.
User side
What effect will energy storage have on users? It can be said that the popularity of energy storage in the future may change the electricity consumption habits of users.
As we all know, off-peak electricity prices are cheaper than peak electricity prices, and the difference in electricity prices is 3-4 times. If one day, the cost of energy storage systems drops significantly, large electricity customers may build their own energy storage systems to store electricity during off-peak periods and use it during peak periods.
In addition, some industries have very high requirements for the stability of electric energy, such as some data centers and 5G base stations, and their demand for energy storage systems will be the first to grow.
In general, the development of energy storage technology and the large-scale application of energy storage devices can not only better protect people's electricity needs and ensure the safe and stable operation of the power grid, but also greatly increase the proportion of renewable energy power generation and reduce carbon emissions. quantity and contribute to the realization of "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality".