Storage to Determine Renewable Energy Future

Energy efficient solar panels, cellulosic ethanol, affordable fuel cells and cheap electrolysis -- these are all important technologies that could push renewable energy to become a substantial contributor to our equation, but none are as important as battery technology.

The intermittent nature of wind and solar power are at odds with utilities' need for consistent and on-demand power, and batteries are needed to bridge the gap.

American Electric Power is ahead of the curve on this, committing to developing 1,000 megawatts of energy storage using batteries during the next decade, according to The New York Times.

AEP can store wind energy that is produced overnight and sell it at a premium during peak times in the afternoon hours. Even with the additional cost of batteries, wind energy can be more cost effective than building more coal power plants that may not be needed 24/7.

Solar power farms that heat water to produce steam to drive turbines can somewhat time shift their output by conserving the heat for a few hours, but batteries could enable solar farms to sell their energy at a premium during peak times.

Then there's the wild card of plug-in hybrids and the "vehicle to grid" backers who see cars as a distributed source of battery back up and on demand power for the grid. Cars could be charged overnight and then the electricity send back up the grid during peak hours. There are many infrastructural challenges for smart metering and the interface between the vehicles and the grid, but those aren't as tough as creating reliable and affordable batteries. When they are on the road the plug-in hybrids will also be displacing petroleum by the millions of barrels per year.

The House of Representatives passed the The Energy Storage Technology Advancement Act of 2007 which would allocate $150 million for energy storage research. This is a big step in the right direction, but it should take priority over fuel cell funding and other more speculative research.

If clean energy is to become more than a niche industry -- like a quarter of our power by 2025 -- -batteries must be an important part of the equation.