Solar Energy Storage Innovations

If you've kept your finger on the pulse of renewable energy you're most likely aware that storage is a major problem when using Renewable Energy Systems.

As an example when it's an overcast day or when the sun doesn't shine photovoltaic panels produce very little to no power at all. In order to overcome this deficiency the energy produce during the day must be stored in a battery system.

For large scale energy production this becomes quite expensive even for a home owner with a small system the batteries can be quite expensive depending on the type and the amount of energy that is being stored for later use.

This draw back has been address with various promising technologies which though are not as expensive as using conventional storage battery technologies are no suitable for every application and there is still the cost factor that must be considered.

This is where researchers at the Massachusetts Institute Of Technology MIT (Daniel Nocera and Matthew Kanan) have reported a major breakthrough in the way solar energy can be stored an retrieved for later use.

The researchers have developed a new catalyst which is made from natural non toxic materials. The catalyst is simple, low cost and very efficient when it comes to the process of storing the solar energy that is collected.

When solar energy is converted into electricity a certain amount is used in conjunction with the catalyst to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen storing each for later usage.

When the sun goes down or when it is overcast the stored hydrogen and oxygen is recombined using fuel cell technology to generate electricity, and as you might have guessed this technology can also be used with wind turbine systems.

The best thing of all is that the catalyst works at room temperature and in neutral pH water making is very simple to set up and use. This means that in just a few years homeowners could be using this energy storage technology with their solar panels.


For Plans On Building And Installing Your Own Solar Panels & Wind Turbine Systems Visit The Renewable Energy Resource Website