An Alaska case study: Energy storage technologies

In the analysis of energy storage systems (ESSs) in Alaska, the most significant trend in the data considered is the increased variance in costs with time. Thus, more options are now available for ESS with “low cost per kW/high cost per kW h” and vice versa, indicating a greater variety of specialized ESS for targeted applications. The data analyzed do not show any difference in the cost of energy storage in Alaska compared to such costs in the rest of the nation or world. Alaska has had relatively few energy storage technology failures, and most that occurred were caused by improper operation. It is often difficult to justify energy storage economically based on fuel savings alone. Significant work remains to quantify other possible cost savings afforded by energy storage, such as reduced fuel consumption and stress on a diesel generator by smoothing out the load. The lack of standardization and quantification of costs and benefits is the main barrier to determining the economic potential for implementation of energy storage in Alaska. In addition, communities in Alaska often wish to avoid ESS that uses hazardous materials since each community will eventually have to deal with disposal issues.