TORONTO — Ontario is staring down an electricity supply crunch and amid a rush to secure more power, it is plunging into the world of energy storage — a relatively unknown solution for the grid that experts say could also change energy use at home.
Officials with the Independent Electricity System Operator say a key advantage of natural gas generation is that it can quickly ramp up and down to meet changes in demand. Energy storage can provide that same flexibility, those in the industry say. "The space is there, the technology is there, and the willingness among private industry to respond is all there," he said."I know of a lot of companies that have been rubbing their hands together, looking at this potential to construct storage capacity."
In thermal storage, electricity is used to heat water when demand is low and when it's needed, water stored in tanks can be used as heat or hot water. "Hybrids, storage generation pairings, gives you that opportunity to deal with the variability of renewables, so to store electricity when the sun isn't shining, or the wind isn't blowing, and use it when you need it to."
As well, the IESO has its eye on the thousands of mobile batteries in electric vehicles that shuttle people around the province every day but sit unused for much of the time. "Battery energy storage will change the energy industry in the same way and for the same reasons that refrigeration changed the milk industry," he said.
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