Energy Storage: The Final Piece of the Solar Puzzle

Energy Storage: The Final Piece of the Solar Puzzle

The intermittency of solar power has long been the primary barrier to its large-scale deployment. But as energy storage costs fall sharply, this problem is being solved.

Vanadium Flow Battery Breakthrough

The latest generation of Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries (VRFB) has achieved a system cost of $50/kWh, down 60% from three years ago. The key advantages of this battery type are: energy storage duration can be flexibly extended (4-12 hours), cycle life exceeds 20,000 cycles, and there is no fire risk like lithium batteries.

Economic Analysis

In sunny regions of the United States, the LCOE for solar plus 4-hour storage has already fallen to $30-45/MWh, below the $45-60/MWh for natural gas combined-cycle power plants. This means solar-plus-storage has become the most economical choice for new-build power generation.