Quote:
Originally Posted by SeeGeeWhy
Carbon neutral Hydrogen and synthetic hydrocarbon fuels will be produced as a means of chemical energy storage and distribution on a great scale in a matter of 20 years.
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I think one of the biggest questions left for the energy transition is what will happen with energy storage? Will a dominant cheap technology(ies) emerge like as has been the case with wind and solar or will storage remain relatively expensive and therefore niche technologies will be deployed based on the specific characteristics of the systems that use them.
What alot of the analysis is starting to point to is that we are probably over estimating the amount of storage we need and overemphasizing how important cheap storage is to the energy transition.
For example, reducing the costs of solar PV has a significant impact on the amount of storage you need. This NREL study estimates that if the cost of solar PV increases from 3 cents per kWh to 5 cents per kWh then you need 45% more storage capacity.
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy16osti/66595.pdf
Point being that driving down the costs of generating technologies also tends to drive down the need for storage.