Abstract:
Utilization of solar energy and wind energy is the ultimate solution to the energy problem. As traditional energy resources (including fossil-fuel, nuclear and hydropower) could be supplied on demand, solar energy and wind energy are intermittent and do not subject to human control. Energy storage is a necessary condition for an effective utilization of solar and wind energy. Long-term large-scale energy storage is very expensive. A practical solution is short-term distributed storage of solar and wind energy. Here, short-term means some ten hours to several days; distributed means at each building or each unit, such as a farm, and to use various types of storage methods. Equipment for short-term distributed storage of solar and wind energy may become a new industry of huge scale.