Comparison of Solar Energy Storage Methods and their Implications on Integration with Renewable Energy

Decarbonizing the electrical grid through the large-scale implementation of solar energy can address both climate change concerns and provide energy for growing global energy needs. While solar energy from the sun is plentiful, capturing and storing solar energy can prove difficult depending on environmental and grid integration factors. If solar energy can be effectively stored at a large scale, then solar energy could be a solution to humanity's energy and climate crises. This article focuses on six different methods of solar energy storage, including pumped-hydro storage, compressed air energy storage, thermal energy storage, redox flow batteries, hydrogen energy storage, and lithium-ion batteries. For each method of energy storage, the principles, advantages, disadvantages, and future potential will be explained and analyzed to evaluate which method is the most promising for integration with solar energy on a global scale. Pumped-hydro energy storage is shown to be the most promising out of the energy storage methods discussed.