Summary report on winter energy storage work

How does winter weather affect bulk power system reliability?

Such attacks, coupled with above-normal winter peak load and outage conditions and limited operational margins, could adversely impact Bulk Power System reliability and subsequently businesses and people.

What is seasonal thermal energy storage (STES)?

Analysis of relations between technical and economic parameters. Revelation of economic competitiveness of STES against existing heating options. Seasonal thermal energy storage (STES) holds great promise for storing summer heat for winter use. It allows renewable resources to meet the seasonal heat demand without resorting to fossil-based back up.

Does seasonal thermal energy storage provide economic competitiveness against existing heating options?

Revelation of economic competitiveness of STES against existing heating options. Seasonal thermal energy storage (STES) holds great promise for storing summer heat for winter use. It allows renewable resources to meet the seasonal heat demand without resorting to fossil-based back up. This paper presents a techno-economic literature review of STES.

When will NERC's winter reliability assessment & long-term reliability assessment be released?

The final versions of NERC’s Winter Reliability Assessment and Long Term Reliability Assessment are scheduled for publication in late 2023. Weather Outlook: Higher-than-average temperatures are expected for the coming winter for half of the country, which could limit increases in natural gas and electricity demand.

What if winter peak load & outage conditions are above-normal?

For some regions,147 above-normal winter peak load and outage conditions could result in the need to employ operational mitigations (e.g.., demand response, transfers, Energy Emergency Alerts, or EEAs,148 and load shedding)

When is installed net winter capacity assessed?

83 Installed net winter capacity is assessed through February 2024. Note that these estimates do not imply that generation output will match the net winter capacity of a resource type. Figure 14 also captures expected capacity retirements and planned capacity through February 2024.