NATIONAL REPORT—The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the most devastating natural disasters to have ever occurred. With the death toll in the millions, it has been a terrible event for humankind. But some positives have come from this tragedy. One such positive is about the storage of energy. This post will show you what we’ve learned about storing energy from Covid-19. Read more.
Resilience
The energy storage industry has seen a record deployment of projects in the last few years. This resilience results from the technological milestones that the industry has made and more available financing options. Energy storage markets will also continue to provide employment opportunities in manufacturing and engineering despite the pandemic, which will take the place of fossil fuel jobs as they are phased out.
Clean energy and net-zero energy have also become increasingly important. During the pandemic, it became increasingly clear that everyone requires a robust energy storage system for their homes, offices, and factories. Clean energy was seen as a supplement that will be vital in the years ahead because it does not emit any greenhouse gases or other pollutants into Earth’s atmosphere. It is also a key component of net-zero energy, requiring everyone to produce as much clean electricity as the amount consumed.
The problem is that the current solutions for clean and net-zero energy are not robust enough to work with the existing infrastructure, which relies on fossil fuels. This means there’s a need for a new type of storage system to make these innovations possible. The pandemic has taught us how critical it is to have a working backup energy system if something goes wrong with the main one. That’s why there’s a need for more than just solar panels and wind turbines for electricity generation. There’s also a need for battery banks to store excess power during periods of low demand so these systems can be used at other times when there might not be enough sun or wind available.
The long-term solution could be the inclusion of many solutions, such as microgrids using renewable sources that connect regions through larger transmission lines while distributing electric power locally from multiple distributed feeder stations throughout each region. However, there’s still much work ahead before this type of system can be successfully deployed.
The Creation and Launch of New Products
The pandemic has been a wake-up call for the business world, as it highlighted how vulnerable society is to power outages and other energy disruptions. In response, many corporations learned to develop new products that will allow individuals to store more electricity or use less. This has also enabled investors, consumers, and policymakers to be more confident in their decision-making process as they incorporate new energy storage technology into an increasingly electrified future.
Though most of these solutions are still a work-in-progress, it’s clear that this is an issue not just for utility companies but also something everyone will have to grapple with. And when the next large scale disaster hits, there may finally be some relief on the horizon if society takes heed from the Covid-19 pandemic lessons learned.
Additionally, the stakeholders in the energy industry should have a plan for what kind of storage solutions society will need. The best way to prepare is by educating yourself on the many potential options for energy storage—including grid-scale, behind-the-meter and residential systems that can scale up or down depending on power demand.
Evolution of Business Models
As the world grapples with the pandemic and how to best provide energy and cope with climate change, a variety of new business models are emerging. They address both customers’ needs for reliable power and the need to better manage their grids under increasing pressure from renewable sources like solar and wind.
In previous years, utilities have been hesitant about the idea of investing in energy storage. This is because they rely on their ability to generate power and distribute it, and any new technology that companies introduce would threaten this business model. However, utility companies have more opportunities to shift away from this old way of doing things with increased investment into renewable energy sources such as wind or solar-powered facilities.
Fire Safety Is Top of Mind & Remains Critical
When fire breaks out in a building that houses an energy storage system, it can be terrifying. This may cause the system to overheat and release its contents, leading to an explosion and the release of toxic gases and chemicals. The pandemic has made fire safety to be top of mind when designing buildings. This has increased even more due to health risks posed by the pandemic and heightened awareness around climate change.
Fire mitigation testing standards remain a critical tool for determining whether designs are up to code to mitigate these risks. These tests measure factors like heat resistance, flame spread time, and smoke development after ignition to verify design compliance.
The fire protection materials that surround the batteries are also important for mitigating risk. For example, a system must be both non-combustible and self-extinguishing to prevent fires from spreading beyond its boundaries. A common tactic is designing with flame barriers or other types of passive control measures like metal mesh screens, which will reduce heat release and limit smoke production by starving it of fuel and limiting access to oxygen.
The Bottom Line
The pandemic has taught us some valuable lessons about energy storage that will be invaluable to the future of humankind. We have been reminded that we are not immune to disaster and should always prepare for the worst, but also learned how a global community can come together in times of dire need.
