A recent report ‘The Promise of Seasonal Storage’ released by DNV GL, a global quality assurance firm, proposed the use of seasonal storage technology for year-round use.
Seasonal Storage
Seasonal storage technology are those that store (or charge) the excess energy generated from renewable sources due to overproduction and then discharge the build-up during off-season. Eg: it could store energy from the sun during the summers and discharge to meet the demand during winters.
Proposals of the Report
The DNV GL report proposed the following:
- Balancing the annual cycle of energy demand and energy production from renewable but seasonal sources using long-term storage technology.
- Use of new technology like synthetic fuels and green hydrogen in light of competition from grid connected battery storage.
- There is a lower than expected need for additional storage solution. This is because variable renewable sources have been used to meet demands.
- The gap can be filled by short term storage technologies like batteries.
- Growing number of electric vehicles would steady the renewable sources being added to the grid.
- Use of compressed hydrogen would cut costs for seasonal storage.
Synthetic Fuels
Synthetic fuel or synfuel is a liquid or gaseous fuel derived from syngas. Syngas is the mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The same quality of syngas can be produced from multiple feedstock (coal, gas or biomass). The goal is to produce it solely from biomass, thereby making it a sustainable source.