Solar Power has always had many setbacks since its conception and commercial use in the U.S. Among these issues is the access to the grid - mainly large scale storage of this free electricity from the sun. "Energy storage is the killer application for taking our grid to the next level"Matt Rogers a senior advisory for the U.S. Energy Secretary commented a few years ago (Source: NY Times Sept 2010). It seems there is change in the air as recently, changes in regulation at the Federal and State levels have been establishing the building blocks to bring storage possibilities to the electric grid.
Currently, owners of grid lines are required to maintain a certain frequency in the power they serve their clients from energy production through constant sources - burning coal, gas, hydro etc. This phenomenon has been complicated with the addition of new sources of energy production such as Solar. The problem is that power fed into the grid from a solar plant may significantly drop due to a sudden lack of sunlight as a cloud passes by. This will cause significant problems in the grid as consumers will experience power shortages and even power outages. Storing extra power and releasing it during these drop-offs may in fact solve the problem. Last June 2012 the Federal Government passed a new rule making it easy for solar and wind energy producers and distributors to feed into the grid. This move to break the barriers in order to access the grid will set a new level of competition in the energy market that may tilt the tide towards renewables. The new rule will make ways for providers to schedule more detailed increments making it possible to further manage power changes from these different sources.
