Wind-Battery Fusion May Spark Cleaner, More Reliable Electric Grid

The largest manufacturer of wind turbines, Vestas, has invested 10 million euros in battery manufacturer Northvolt — part of an effort to link wind, solar and battery storage technology to bring down renewable energy costs. The two companies are partnering to create a lithium-ion battery for use in future power plants. According to a power systems researcher at Cornell University, this coordination can substantially improve power grid reliability.

Eilyan Bitar, an assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University, studies the operation and economics of modern power systems. He says combining renewable energy resources with energy storage technology can allow for a more consistent source of power.

Bio: https://www.ece.cornell.edu/people/profile.cfm?netid=eyb5

Bitar says:

“The intelligent deployment and coordinated operation of electric energy storage devices with intermittent renewable energy resources (like wind and solar power plants) has the potential to substantially improve the cleanliness and reliability of the electric power grid. 

“Essentially, the primary value of energy storage derives from its ability to shift the supply of available power across time, enabling both the absorption of power imbalances on short time scales, and the more substantial reshaping of intermittent supply profiles over longer periods of time.”

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