Energy Storage: A Nontechnical Guide [Hardcover]

Richard Baxter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 2005 | ISBN-10: 159370027X | ISBN-13: 978-1593700270

Energy Storage: A Nontechnical Guide, by Richard Baxter, is a complete resource on the operation of energy storage technologies and how they interact in the marketplace today. Baxter explains new opportunities for these technologies, detailed descriptions of the technologies and their market applications, and business opportunities energy storage technologies can expect throughout the industry. The book explains how, and under what conditions, energy storage technologies can become a vital component of the electric power industry.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Energy storage technologies offer exciting new possibilities to increase the efficiency and reliability of electricity markets. Customers and suppliers of electricity will benefit from understanding storage technologies. There are many opportunities for energy storage to improve our electricity infrastructure. Storage can provide another dimension to electricity markets, beyond the current distribution, transmission, generation and conservation elements, leading to lower cost and more reliable electric service. (This book) provides all of us with an excellent overview of these emerging technologies and provides useful insights into the roles they can play in tomorrow’s energy marketplace."

Joe Desmond, Chairman California Energy Commission

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"Energy storage has significant potential to enhance the attractiveness of renewable energy and distributed generation in our electrical system. By decoupling power production and demand, energy storage can help “firm up” intermittent renewable energy resources. As a result, energy storage can improve the ability to finance and operate renewable energy projects. In Energy Storage: A Nontechnical Guide, Richard Baxter lays out the real world options for increasing the deployment of energy storage and thereby enhancing the economic and environmental benefits of clean energy." Dan Reicher, President, New Energy Capital Corp., and former United States Assistant Secretary of Energy

From the Author

With Foreword by Dr. Hermann Scheer, General Chairman World Council for Renewable Energy, President EURSOLAR, Recipient of the Alternative Nobel Prize, Member of the German Bundestag

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 302 pages
• Publisher: PennWell Corp. (September 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159370027X
• ISBN-13: 978-1593700270
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,000,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable Reference, November 10, 2005

By 

Michael Roach (Arlington, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Energy Storage: A Nontechnical Guide (Hardcover)

As a management consultant in the power industry for more than 10 years, I can appreciate when a good desktop reference book comes along. I find Baxter's descriptions of Energy Storage technologies to be clear and to the point for someone who needs to gain an understanding very quickly. When I need more depth, it is there too, providing thorough descriptions of the technology's relevance, potential applications, and, most importantly, its limitations.

This is a book that I would recommend to anyone needing quick but complete access to all of the significant energy storage technologies on the market or in development. I would especially recommend the book to anyone working in the renewable energy field, as it provides quick guidance on how energy storage could enhance the economics of a renewable energy project.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Guide and Reference, November 10, 2005

By 

R. Nottingham - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Energy Storage: A Nontechnical Guide (Hardcover)

I found this book to be an excellent guide and reference. The book first explains the role of energy storage within the broader electricity market, and I found the author's way of illustrating the role-and potential role-of these technologies to be particularly effective and insightful. The author then presents a detailed overview of ten energy storage technologies, some familiar, like various types of large-capacity batteries, but he also covers pumped hydro, compressed air, flywheels, electrochemical capacitors, and superconducting magnetic energy storage. For each technology, the author explains the technology, assesses its costs and applications, analyzes its place in the market, and highlights major developers and installations.

For me, however, the best part of the book was the chapter dedicated to the role of energy storage in supporting renewable energy development. One of the persistent drawbacks to renewable energy is that it is not perceived as reliable (e.g., it has to be windy for wind and sunny for solar), but the author clearly explains how renewable sources can be integrated with large-scale energy storage to make them even more commercially and technically viable.

In the tradition of PennWell's other excellent non-technical guides, the large number of exhibits and detailed index will also make this a very handy reference.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Value, December 9, 2005

By 

Jo Green "Dr. Jo Green" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Energy Storage: A Nontechnical Guide (Hardcover)

This book should be considered by anyone interested in the new generation technologies or their applications in the energy industry. I like the way it is organized, including sections on electric, petroleum, and coal power storage. Electricity storage technologies and applications are discussed in depth in addition to renewable energy and storage.

It is written in clear language and structured in a straightforward manner. It contains numerous examples and insights from the actual developers throughout. The author also includes useful graphs and diagrams and a 12-page bibliography with numerous references as an easy next step for anyone interested in going deeper.

I've been active in evaluating new generation and transmission technologies in the electric power industry for many years, first with a major utility, and later as a Principal at my own consulting firm. Utility-scale electricity storage technologies have been around since the late 1970's, but only as demonstration units because of the limitations of the lead-acid batteries at the core of the projects. The technologies described in this book have shown progress since I've last looked into them, with some of them seeming to be on the cusp of real commercial utilization.

All in all, this is an essential reference book to quickly get up to speed on any of these technologies or understand how they are used. Buy it, trust me - I own a lot of these kinds of books and this is a good one.