To power entire communities with clean energy, such as solar and wind power, a reliable backup storage system is needed to provide energy when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t out.

One possibility is to use any excess solar- and wind-based energy to charge solutions of chemicals that can subsequently be stored for use when sunshine and wind are scarce. During these down times, chemical solutions of opposite charge can be pumped across solid electrodes, thus creating an electron exchange that provides power to the electrical grid.

The key to this technology, called a redox flow battery, is finding chemicals that can not only “carry” sufficient charge, but also be stored without degrading for long periods, thereby maximizing power generation and minimizing the costs of replenishing the system.

Researchers at the University of Rochester and University at Buffalo believe they have found a promising compound that could transform the energy storage landscape.

In a paper published in Chemical Science, an open access journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the researchers describe modifying a metal-oxide cluster, which has promising electroactive properties, so that it is nearly twice as effective as the unmodified cluster for electrochemical energy storage in a redox flow battery.

The research was led by the lab of Ellen Matson, PhD, University of Rochester assistant professor of chemistry. Matson’s team partnered with Timothy Cook, PhD, assistant professor of chemistry in the UB College of Arts and Sciences, to develop and study the cluster.

“Energy storage applications with polyoxometalates are pretty rare in the literature. There are maybe one or two examples prior to ours, and they didn’t really maximize the potential of these systems,” says first author Lauren VanGelder, a third-year PhD student in Matson’s lab and a UB graduate who received her BS in chemistry and biomedical sciences.

Last week, 175 countries signed onto a global agreement to significantly reduce carbon emissions in the face of the threat of climate change. Many of those same countries—particularly India, China, and Nigeria—are simultaneously experiencing major urbanization trends that will move billions of people into cities over the next several decades. In fact, according to the United Nations, approximately 2.5 billion people will likely join the world’s urban population by 2050, almost entirely in Asia and Africa. By that time, two-thirds of the world’s population is projected to be living in urban areas, according to the United Nations.

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HONOLULU (AP) – Hawaii has the highest rate of residents using solar panels in the nation, and lawmakers want to extend the state’s leadership role by offering incentives or rebates to those who buy batteries to store their renewable energy.

It’s an issue that’s important to residents of the island state, which has the highest electricity costs in the nation. The state’s largest utility proposed charging different rates for customers at peak times, such as night, when electricity costs are highest.

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A new study published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says renewable energy sources will be unable to compete with conventional energy without government support or high taxes on fossil fuels for at least a decade.

The authors also conclude renewable energy may always need government assistance to stay in business.

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