Energy storage in high-rise buildings

Could a new energy storage concept transform tall buildings into batteries?

IIASA researchers have come up with a new energy storage concept that could turn tall buildings into batteries to improve the power quality in urban settings. Article republished from International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)

How is energy stored in a building?

It relies on the use of elevators in buildings to lift solid masses in charging mode. It lowers the same mass to produce electricity in discharge mode. “Energy is stored as potential energy by elevating storage containers with an existing lift in the building from the lower storage site to the upper storage site,” the scientists said.

Could lift energy storage technology be a viable alternative to long-term energy storage?

Conclusion This paper concludes that Lift Energy Storage Technology could be a viable alternative to long-term energy storage in high-rise buildings. LEST could be designed to store energy for long-term time scales (a week) to generate a small but constant amount of energy for a long time.

Why do we need energy storage technologies?

With the rapid reduction in the costs of renewable energy generation, such as wind and solar power, there is a growing need for energy storage technologies to make sure that electricity supply and demand are balanced properly.

Are alternative hydroelectric energy storage systems economically viable?

The current study assesses the potential techno-economic viability of two alternative hydroelectric energy storage systems - a building-based pumped hydro system, and a building-based gravity module system. The levelized electricity cost and variable storage cost are used as performance metrics in the study.

Are building-based hydroelectric storage systems comparable?

The findings from this study demonstrate the techno-economic tradeoffs that exist between BBPH, BBGM, LIBP, and NGPP systems, and show that building-based hydroelectric storage systems are comparable (and in some cases preferable) to conventional rapidly deployable grid-scale energy generation and/or storage systems.