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.

Table of Contents

• Storage and the Electric Power Industry
• Storage in Other Energy Markets
• Electricity Storage Technologies
• Applications
• Renewable Energy and Energy Storage
• Energy Storage and the Future

"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

"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. Energy Storage: A Nontechnical Guide by Richard Baxter 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

"The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has supported the development and deployment of energy storage since the early 1970s because of its ability to enhance the operation, reliability and security of the electric power system infrastructure. Energy Storage: A Nontechnical Guide by Richard Baxter provides a good introduction into this emerging technology and shows through many examples how various energy storage technologies are already being effectively utilized by utilities and their customers. By dynamic interaction with the electric grid, energy storage provides crucial flexibility to system planners and operators as they face a number of growing challenges associated with the current restructuring of the industry. --Steven Eckroad, Technical Manager, Advanced T&D Technology Electric Power Research Institute

"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." -- R. Nottingham, as seen on Amazon.com