It has not only become important today to produce green energy such as wind and solar energy but it is also important to store this energy for future use. The surplus green energy should be stored so that it can be used in situations where there is no generation of the energy. For example, the solar panels can harness the power of the sun only during the day. If this energy is stored it can be used at night. There are today many companies who have risen to this challenge of storing both these types of energies.
Wind power is now approaching grid parity. Electricity from green power costs as less as electricity produced from coal power. The Iowa Stored Energy Park has chosen an underground location to store compressed air. The equipment for this operation will be modified from the already existing equipment to store natural gas. Another example of saving green energy storage is that of the green technology developer called General Compression. The company has procured around 5 million dollars to develop a system that will store energy produced from green turbines. This energy can then be used whenever one needs it.
The solar power department is also making rapid progress towards storing energy for future use. For example, Ausra, which is a company producing low cost solar steam generators is now thinking of developing technologies called night time availability and cloud cover. The company believes that thermal plants can be used to convert sunlight into steam.
The steam can be used to store heat energy which can then be used on days when there is no sun or little sun. The company believes that the power plants will be able to store heat at prices which are as competitive as natural gas and coal.
Today there are many other utility companies that have started investing in this option. For example, Pacific Gas and Electricity Company has signed a twenty five year deal with another company called Solel Solar Systems to purchase stored power from the solar thermal plant in California. Solel has been taken over by Siemens and the company is now called Siemens Concentrated Solar Power Limited. Florida Power and Light Company has hired the services of the same company to upgrade their solar power plants. Ausra is also in negotiation with PG&E to supply power for their future plant project.