Essay: Benefits Of Energy Storage For Solar-PV And Wind-Turbines.

The oil and gas industries are already investing heavily in the renewable energy field, in general, and energy storage systems, in particular. Parallel to the above, development in Solar-PV and Wind-Turbine are progressing continuously in the form of higher efficiency, lower cost and wider commercial availability. However, the above two systems depend on energy storage systems (e.g. batteries) in order to provide continuous power supply. As a consultant, you have been invited to examine energy storage systems, in general, and the connection to Solar-PV and Wind-Turbine, in particular, write a 2,000-word report on the following: 

1. Storage systems positive and negative aspects

2. The commercial availability of energy storage systems which can be used to support some of the renewable energy applications, other than batteries

3. What are the impacts on the environment during the usage of these energy systems. and the waste produced from some of these systems, if any, at the end of their life cycle?

4. Your cost-effective recommendations for an efficient energy storage for solar-PV and Wind-Turbines systems 

Energy storage systems are used by many companies. In this report, the benefits of using these systems are discussed in detail and being a consultant  it is very important to understand the role of energy storage systems in oil and gas industries. There are many types of the energy that can be converted from one energy to another and make it useful for the companies. The different types of energies are kinetic energy, chemical energy, potential energy, thermal energy and electric energy. There is confusion between the heat and energy for some people. They consider heat also as the form of the heat. But heat is not the energy as work and heat are the type of energy transmissions. Heat is basically used to measure the level of energy in the substance. Also, it has been seen that the fossil fuels are lacking and continuous increase in the prices of gasoline and as a result global warming causes many problems to the environment. The renewable energy is the best source to make the friendly environment. The renewable sources of the energy are wind energy, solar energy and hydrogen thermal power plants. The use of these energies takes place to generate the electricity, heating and cooling of places (IEC, 2012). The solar  radiations are used for this whereas the thermal energy was used to heat or cool at the time when the energy system is either passive or active. It is not  necessary that the solar power systems placed at the of roof of the building, it can be placed anywhere where it receives the maximum daylight.  

There are many types of the energy storage systems (ESS) and they are categorized as below:

• Thermal Energy Storage.
• Chemical Energy Storage.
• Mechanical Energy Storage.
• Magnetic Energy Storage.

There are many uses of the solar powers and energy storage system. On a small scale, these are used for the purpose heating, lighting and many household activities. But these  are also used by many companies and many companies are heavily invested in these things. The positive as well negative aspect of these systems is given below:-

1. The first benefit for the companies is that these systems helps in the reduction of the costs and expenditures.
2. The energy systems increase the services of power quality as a result of which leads to the customer satisfaction and protection from these equipments (Kodama, 2015).
3. The best uses of these solar energy systems are the heating of places, pumping water,  lighting and many more household activities.
4. Helps to increase the revenue of the companies by reducing the cost and operating expenditures.
5. These energy systems like batteries, wind energies, are not causing pollution in the environment.
6. These energy systems lead to power saving and  protect the cities and towns from the outages of power (Carnegie, et al., 2013).
7. The energy systems are the best source as they are helpful in the stand alone applications in the form of uninterruptible power supply(UPS). These units are used in the situation of power outages and act as a back up for the better working of the organization.
8. Energy systems are renewable in nature because of the  abundance of solar energy.

1. Talking about the negative aspect of the energy system is that they are very expensive in nature as compared to the fossil fuels as they  are not affordable by the average man (Diaz-Gonzalez, et al., 2012).
2. Global warming is increasing because of these systems slowed down the efforts of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions.
3. In the coming years, investments in these systems break even because it will cost around $40000 to $ 70000 to become the become the electricity producer.
4. The batteries used by the oil and gas companies may lead to parasitic losses as these systems draw power while working and reduce the efficiency of power (ABB, 2010).

Being a consultant, I have analyzed that there are many technologies used by the companies rather than batteries only. Every company wants to improve its energy storage system to avoid the risk of loss. The other type of energy storage systems is :

Fuel cells: -  These are the cells that help in generating power through the chain of reactions.  For example, to form the hydrogen cell we have the reactants like oxygen and hydrogen and the combination of these two reactants helps to make the hydrogen cell. The advantage of these types of the storage system as compared to the Solar PV is that it can be used all the time, even in the winters when the sunlight is not available. This energy can be stored and as well as can be transported  also.

Super capacitors: - These capacitors have the capacity of storing 5000 farads. They can store the high density of energy as compared to solar PV and wind energy  used by the oil and gas company.  They are used in vehicles and the electronic devices in the house.

Positive Aspects

Lithium-ion Batteries: - These batteries are used to reduce the oxidation and carbon and it has the capacity of 2 mega-joules per kg. These batteries are used in the vehicles. The drawback of these batteries is that it will create pollution and the gas emitted by these vehicles are harmful for the health of the people.

Hydrogen cell: - This can be formed by the way of splitting water and reform the hydrogen from it. The machine that used hydrogen as energy is Eco friendly as it avoids the pollution.

Flywheels: - This is the mechanical type of energy storage and it is used for braking locomotives. The best part of these flywheels is that it is very light weighted and is most preferred device because of its less weight. Light weight material is used in this system to increase the level of efficiency.

Solar powered UAV: - This system is made according to the new technologies and helps to reduce the use of fossil fuels and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions.

New solar pond distillation system: - This system and solar technique  are used in the lakes and with the help of this the lake water salinity will be removed to improve the ecosystem of water.

The use of the energy systems and the technologies has great impact on the environment. The impact of these storage systems either be positive or negative. Being a consultant, I have analyzed that the energy storage systems helps in reducing the use of units that can be run in the case of emergency, and helps to generate the optimal levels. The technology used by the companies protects the environment from the pollution.These energy systems leads the sustainable development of the companies. The storage systems help to generate the need for more power plants or transmission lines. These energy systems lead to power saving and  protect the cities and towns from the outages of power (Kokkotis, 2017).

The negative aspects of the storage devices on the environment is depends on the type of technology used by the companies. The companies using batteries as its storage systems negatively affect the environments as these batteries are made up of lithium and lead. These raw materials used in batteries are hazardous for the environment and the people living in that environment.  The recycling of these materials is very important to keep the environment green and clean. Another  negative impact is that it wastes many electricity at the time of storage process.

The oil and gas companies are heavily investing in these storage systems, but this company needs to make some cost effective strategies for the betterment of the company and people. The company is using the two technology one is solar PV and other one is wind turbines. To gain the sustainable development in the market, the following points should be considered: -

1. The company needs to reduce its expenditure of investing in expensive storage systems. The company have the many more options rather than these technologies. The new technologies are coming up at low cost with more benefits like flywheels, capacitors, and hydrogen cells (Abdelrahman, et al., 2012).
2. It is recommended that oil and gas company should take care of the safety of the new storage system of modern technology.
3. The testing of these storage devices by the research and development is necessary for the safety and protection of the environment.
4. The raw materials used in the solar PV should be used and recycle properly
5. The wind turbines should be placed in  such way that it will not threaten the wildlife.
6. The installation of the wind turbines should  take place under the supervision of the experts and these turbines should be built outside the urban areas (Europe, 2012).
7. The planning should be done in prior in order to reach up to the goals. The short term as well as long term objectives should be made to attain the long term goals. The management here works step by step and the budget of the organization is prepared so that all the expenditures can be controlled and assessed what are the relevant and miscellaneous expenses.
8. The wind turbines used by the oil and gas company create a lot of noise pollution so its better the company should work on it (Díaz, et al., 2015).
9. There are numerous number of storage systems available In the market and so as the risk of competition exists. The company should analyze the pros cons of the each storage system and then use the best technology for its business operations.
10. The company should follow the standards set by the government  and also the government and the R& D should provide more guidelines and regulations for the environment issues.

Conclusion:

At last, it is concluded that the green and clean environment is the necessity of people to live happily. In this report I have analyzed the positive as well as the negative aspects of using the energy storage systems and their impact on the environment. The energy storage system are of many times and still developing because of the change in the technologies and needs of the companies and people. The environment is the main focus of the company. As the company of oil and gas  is using two technologies, solar PV and wind turbines, but these technologies need some improvements for the sustainable development of the company and  cost effectiveness objectives. These technologies are expensive in nature. Also, it has been seen that the fossil fuels are lacking and continuous increase in the prices of gasoline and as a result global warming causes many problems to the environment. The renewable energy is the best source to make the friendly environment.  

According to my point of view the best source for the renewable energy should reliable and affordable because these storage systems have a vital role in the future time. Thus, only that technology should be used by the companies that  protect the environment from the pollution. The energy systems help the companies from the loss as they act as a back up for the company and it should be very reliable so that the operations of the companies not affected by this. As there are many means of the storage system available in the market, but it is hard to compare them because every system has its own usage depending upon the situations. However, the Comparison of these storage systems is pointless as there is no energy system which is optimal for all the situations.

References:

ABB, 2010. Power conditioning - Applications and opportunities for new generation energy storage: Power protection solutions, Available at: https://library.e.abb.com/public/000f8ab485993a1048257dc700012a10/2UCD401195-P_a%20Options%20for%20energy%20storage.pdf

Abdelrahman, A., Lamont, L. & Chaar, L., 2012. Energy Storage for Intermittent Renewable Energy Systems, Available at: sciforum.net/conference/wsf2/paper/972/download/pdf

Carnegie, R., Gotham, D., Nderitu, D. & Preckel, P., 2013. Utility Scale Energy Storage Systems: Benefits, Applications, and Technologies: State Utility Forecasting Group, Available at: https://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/sufg/docs/publications/SUFG%20Energy%20Storage%20Report.pdf

Díaz, A., Real, F., Marrero, G. & Perez, Y., 2015. Impact of Electric Vehicles as Distributed Energy Storage in Isolated Systems: The Case of Tenerife, Available at: www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/11/15152/pdf

Diaz-Gonzalez, F., Sumper, A. & Gomis-Bellmunt, O., 2012. A review of energy storage technologies for wind power applications. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 16, p. 2154– 2171.

Europe, I. E., 2012. Facilitating energy storage to allow high penetration of intermittent renewable energy

IEC, 2012. Electrical Energy Storage, Available at: https://www.iec.ch/whitepaper/pdf/iecWP-energystorage-LR-en.pdf

Kodama, H., 2015. Electrical energy storage devices and systems: Hitachi Chemicals, Available at: https://www.hitachi-chem.co.jp/english/report/057/57_sou.pdf

Kokkotis, P., 2017. Environmental Aspects of Small Scale Energy Storage Systems Academia, Available at: https://www.academia.edu/13502342/Environmental_Aspects_of_Small_Scale_Energy_Storage_Systems