oa Energy Storage As An Enabling Technology For The Smart Grid

In today's world, the need for more energy seems to be ever increasing. The high cost and limited sources of fossil fuels, in addition to the need to reduce greenhouse gasses, have made renewable energy sources (RES) attractive in today's world economy. However, the fluctuating and intermittent nature of these RES causes variations of power flow that can significantly affect the stability and operation of the electrical grid. In addition, the power output of these RES is not as easy to adjust to changing demand cycles as the output from the traditional power sources. To overcome these problems, energy from these RES must be stored when excess is produced and then released, when production levels are less than the required demand. Therefore, in order for RES to become completely reliable as primary sources of energy, energy storage systems (ESS) is a crucial factor. The impact of the ESS in future grid is receiving more attention than ever from system designers, grid operations and regulators. Energy storage technologies have the potential to support our energy system's evolution, they can be used for multiple applications, such as: energy management, backup power, load leveling, frequency regulation, voltage support, and grid stabilization. In this work, an overview of the current and future energy storage technologies used for electric power applications is carried out. Furthermore, an assessment of the dynamic performance of energy storage technologies for the stabilization and control of the power flow of emerging smart grid will be presented. The EES can enhance the operation security and ensure the continuity of energy supply in future smart grids.