Energy Storage Systems and Smart Future Cities - An Indian Perspective

Today, 54% of people worldwide live-in cities and this is expected to reach 66% by 2050. Overall population growth and urbanization is expected to add another 2.5 billion people to cities over the next three decades. Energy storage has been identified as a key to climate change mitigation. Globally, only 3% of power capacity is being stored. To limit global warming to below 2°C, energy storage capacity needs to triple by 2050. Smart cities must adopt EAS (Energy as a Service Model) solutions for NET ZERO concept. As per the forecasts, global smart cities market will be valued at $3.6 trillion by 2025.

India is expected to witness an increase in urban population from 377 million in 2011 to 600 million (roughly twice the current population of the United States) in 2031 according to an UN backed report published in 2014. Given these numbers, the country is expected to have around 68 cities with population of more than 1 million by 2030. To realize the goal of making a city smart, it is important to integrate physical, digital and human systems effectively to deliver prosperous, sustainable and inclusive value to its citizens,” – IEEE.

Smart city consists of several components such as governance, mobility, economy and energy that play a key role in transition towards a sustainable urban life, integrating critical infrastructure and various stakeholders. Smart cities are a logical extension of the smart grid concept and realization of smart cities are tightly connected to the process of modernization of traditional power systems. Energy storage systems (ESSs) are emerging as a solution to improve efficiency, sustainability, and reliability of energy systems. ESSs could foster the integration of renewable energy technologies, such as wind and solar, by accommodating their intermittent nature and we have seen such examples or the initiatives taken by the SECI, GOI by call of proposal/BID of 2.5 GW.

In addition, energy storage can serve as a buffer both for energy carriers (such as grids and pipelines) and remote (Decentralises, off-grid, Island) communities, to enhance their resiliency in case of extreme circumstances such as natural hazards or operational disruptions. As we have said, with the analytical positive framework, we could primarily try to focus on grid Integration of renewable energy resources mainly through Solar PV, Wind and Pumped Hydro, Energy storage systems by Lithium Ion and advanced technology, LIB enabled EV’s and Smart Lighting Concepts by the use of IOT, AI, Behavioural Pattern of Energy Systems and Neural Network.

Again, when we talk of Renewable Integration of energy resources where energy from solar is cyclical and peak demand is during the night, the increase in privately owned solar panels creates a steep evening demand curve (the duck curve). This is a big challenge for energy generators, and a reason why we need ways to either store excess energy, or reduce peak evening demand.

Why is effective energy storage important?

One reason is that energy storage can balance the supply and demand of renewable energy – DSM. Wind and solar power are both variable energy sources; simply put, energy storage can save the day when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow, by feeding stored energy from sunnier or windier days to the grid.

Another example relates to the excess heat of our homes. Storage can be used for buildings that have both heating and cooling demands – such as offices, shopping centres, hospitals and airports. Storing your own waste heat and cooling for later use in the season when it is needed can save primary energy and as well as money.

Storage can be as chemical energy as in batteries, can be as potential energy such as pumping water to a height, or as mechanical energy such as flywheels or springs. Reducing peak demand can involve energy efficiency measures, smart technology, or everyone social changes such as moving the working day earlier by an hour. The solutions to the problem of variable renewable energy will require imagination and innovation and that’s the need of hour to put more concentration on the R&D.

The Need and Challenge: Renewable Integration, IOT, AI and IOE

The Integration of RE/RES, Demand and supply side of ESS is a complex and challenging work in any situation and country, to overcome we need to adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Smart tool for big data analytics (Data Collection and critical Analysis), IOT and Digitisation of technology in order to intelligently control and operate energy storage systems integrated at building, district, and community scales. Following are few of the Usage of smart tools and technologies in design, integration, operation, and control of ESSs that include:

Applications of artificial intelligence AI and Neural Network/ Behavioural Pattern in operation and control of ESSs

• Data-driven algorithms for optimization of ESSs

• TCO and Economics of intelligent energy storage

• Real-time modelling predictive and preventive controls for ESSs

• Smart scheduling and monitoring for ESSs

• Networked/distributed ESSs and intelligent coordination in different situational analysis. The way for sensitivity of ESSsSmart design and automation for ESSsData-driven collection, reliability and resiliency assessment of ESSs

• Digitization and building information modelling for ESSs. SMART TOOLS for Energy Efficiency and Management

• IoT and cloud systems for ESSs monitoring, control and security of data

• Cyber Security enables ESSs

With regard to the above points, it becomes clear that the concepts of the Internet of Things (IoT), in which all devices are interconnected via networks, as well as the Internet of Energy (IoE) {Why don’t we adopt Energy as service by issuing the concept of Blockchain and that should be in multiple currencies}.

Efficient Energy Storage to Reduce Emissions in Smart Cities

At the global level, energy storage can help curb climate change by decreasing emissions from electricity, heating and cooling needs. At the community level, energy storage can involve more resilient and flexible energy systems with higher levels of energy security through integration of locally produced energy. From the citizen perspective, energy storage holds the benefit of improved control of energy costs and origin. For the private sector, energy storage can open new business opportunities with constant innovation of offered services. These can range from energy-storage-as-a-service enterprises to market actors expanding to installation of storage systems, charging stations and virtual power plants.

“If we say use energy storage as a union of set, collate more people and organisations and make the technology available on low TCO and cost-efficient. Energy-storage-as-a-service is a very promising concept that could achieve that.”

The drivers for energy storage and new energy carriers/DS can be summarised as follows: Decarbonisation, Decentralisation, Circularity/Low carbon (DDC). In ‘Smart Cities’ nomenclature, when we say 3D’s, namely Decarbonisation, Digitalisation and Decentralisation are set to rip apart the energy and transport worlds as we know them over the next years.

ESS stands at the middle of the road between old and new landscape of energy and it offers a unique opportunity for adapting the energy system to smart and urban needs in the climate change mitigation era, bringing cost-effective solutions with minimal environmental impact while exploiting what digitalisation has to offer in the smart city context. For this to happen, behavioural/Consumer Index and regulatory changes are needed to allow expansion beyond the tipping point.

Moving to Smart Energy and Efficiency

• Smart Grid Smart cities require a Smart Grid infrastructure as power generation moves from a few centralised sources to a distributed model. This will also need the increased use of digital information and controls technology to improve reliability, security, and efficiency of the distributed electric grid. Even with convenient access to renewable energy (water, wind and solar), load balancing and storage between energy platforms using Smart Grid technology is required.

Micro Grids As the world is moving towards the concept of Net Zero, energy density has become a primary factor in smart city design and development. A new generation of low carbon microgrids is changing the ways in which densely populated cities design and operate utility systems using the concept of locally generated and consumed energy.

Coupled with rapid declines in the cost of emissions-free renewable energy technology and services such as wind and solar photovoltaic, recent drops in the cost of advanced stationary battery storage technology have altered the technological make-up of microgrids dramatically.

Future Cities – Energy Storage Cities

The future city is a storage city: a smart city where energy is needed on the go, a city where a large share of energy comes from renewable sources, a city where the internet-of-things allows communication between appliances and infrastructure. A future with battery-powered gadgets and vehicles, appliances, fuel cells and skyscrapers made of hydrogen-produced steel, thermal grids for heating entire neighbourhoods and cooling supermarkets. And finally, we could say a Smart City with Net Zero. The Answer is YES.

- A. K. Shukla, Founder, Sanvaru Technology Limited