Solar Energy Storage Systems and How they Work: Energy Storage Technology Articles: Eco20/20

Solar Energy Storage Systems and How they Work

Humans have harnessed heat and light from the sun since the beginning of civilization. Discoveries about the power of the sun and has led to even more advanced technology. This technology provides effective ways of using this and other forms of renewable energy such as hydroelectricity. The sun, unlike the other forms of green energy, is not available during the nighttime hours. Although renewable, its source is not continual 24 hours a day; which is the primary need for ways to store solar energy.

Solar energy is used in homes and businesses for heating, cooling, lighting and other purposes. Solar panels contain cells, or photovoltaics, that harvest the energy from the sun. This green technology is the most common method that is used and is also known as an active solar technique. Less common, solar energy is harvested by what is known as a passive solar technique. This would include techniques such as building structures with materials that have favorable thermal mass and constructing buildings so that the orientation faces the sun. Several recent technologies have been introduced to store solar energy even more efficiently. The following describes a couple of techniques and technologies designed to meet this need.

International Battery

International Battery (IB) is a green technology company that designs and manufactures large-format lithium-ion (Li-ion) rechargeable batteries. The company has recently developed a 24 volt, 4.1 kilowatt hour energy storage system known as IBexus. The battery is made of individual cells that are 70 times larger than batteries used in electronics. The renewable characteristic of the battery allows it to provide back up power and be used as an energy source day or night. This prevents stressing the energy grid on cloudy days or after dark. The system is designed to store several sources of renewable energy, including solar power. The IBexus has tested with positive results in projects that require micro grid load shifting and in green home applications.

New MIT Discovery

Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have discovered a new technology that creates electricity to power homes and electric cars using solar energy. The technology could allow solar power to become a mainstream source of power because is has the capability to store energy 24 hours a day. The technology utilizes phosphates, cobalt metals and electrodes; which are green materials that are in abundance. The process used to store solar energy resembles photosynthesis; which takes place naturally in plants. This revolution is said to eliminate the barriers to storing energy in the past, namely, expense and inefficiency. Researchers are excited about the prospect and hopeful that it will open the doors to unlimited solar energy in the very near future. The Cesonis Family Foundation along with the National Science Foundation donated $10 million dollars to this project. The goal was to use this research, part of the Solar Revolution Project, to push the use of solar energy to a wide scale within a 10 year time period.

Other Solar Energy Storage Methods

Molten salts are being used to store solar energy because of their low-cost. Molten salts also have the potential to deliver heat with a cost comparable to normal power systems. Pumped storage hydroelectricity is a technology that stores water at a high elevation when extra electricity becomes available. The energy is harnessed by releasing the water when energy is in high demand.