Thermal energy storage (TES) helps reduce the impact of renewable energy curtailment by storing excess renewable electricity—especially from solar and wind—that would otherwise be wasted when generation exceeds demand or grid capacity. This stored thermal energy can then be used later for heating, cooling, or power generation, effectively shifting the timing of energy use and relieving grid stress.
Key ways TES reduces curtailment include:
- Energy Time Shifting: TES can store excess renewable energy for hours or even weeks, capturing energy generated during peak production times and releasing it when demand is higher or renewable output is lower, thus avoiding the need to curtail renewable plants.
- Decreasing Fossil Fuel Dependence: By storing surplus renewable energy thermally, TES reduces reliance on fossil fuel plants that often operate to balance supply and demand, which helps integrate renewables more fully into the grid.
- System Flexibility Enhancement: TES adds flexibility to the power system, allowing it to absorb variability from renewable generation. This flexibility lowers curtailment by absorbing surplus energy and providing reserves to the grid, especially important as the share of solar and wind increases.
- Cost-Effective Storage Solution: Compared to battery storage, TES can offer longer-duration storage at potentially lower costs, making it suitable for mitigating curtailment over extended periods, such as days or weeks, which short-duration storage may not address fully.
Research shows that even relatively short-duration storage of around 4 to 8 hours can significantly reduce curtailment—avoiding about 35% of potential curtailment in some scenarios—but TES can complement this by providing longer-term storage capacity to capture more surplus energy that would otherwise be curtailed.
In summary, thermal energy storage transforms excess renewable generation—otherwise curtailed—into a valuable resource by storing and shifting energy use, enhancing grid flexibility, reducing fossil fuel backup requirements, and enabling higher renewable penetration with less wasted energy.
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