Energy Storage in High Penetration of Renewable Energy Power System: Technologies, Application and Supporting Policies

Integrating renewable energy is one of the most effective way to achieve low-carbon energy system. High penetration of variable renewable energy such as wind power and photovoltaic rises the challenge of balancing the power system. Energy storage technology is regarded one of the keys technology for balancing the intermittency of variable renewable energy to achieve high penetration. This study reviews the energy storage technology that is able to accommodate high penetration of renewable energy. The basic technologies of energy storage that is effective in accommodating the variation in different time scale is firstly reviewed. The role of energy storage in the generation, transmission, distribution, and consumption for high renewable energy penetration is then analyzed. The energy storage supporting policies in the United States and Chinese are summarized. This paper provides guidelines for planning energy storage towards high penetration of renewable energy power system.