Storage Futures Study: Economic Potential of Diurnal Storage in the U.S. Power Sector

A. Frazier, Wesley Cole, Paul Denholm, Scott Machen, Nathaniel Gates, Nate Blair

Research output: NRELTechnical Report

Abstract

We model the evolution of the U.S. electricity sector from 2020 through 2050 and find significant market potential (>125 GW) for diurnal energy storage across all 19 scenarios considered. Most of this storage has 4-6 hours of duration. We find that storage deployment is driven primarily by the combination of capacity value and energy time-shifting value, and that the combination of these value streams is needed for optimal storage deployment to be realized. We also find a strong correlation of PV penetration and storage market potential. Cost and performance metrics in this study focus on Li-ion batteries because the technology has more market maturity than other emerging technologies but results from this study can be generalized to any technologies that meet the cost and performance projections assumed.
Original languageAmerican English
Number of pages67
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/TP-6A20-77449

Keywords

  • capacity
  • energy time-shifting
  • projections
  • PV
  • storage

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