Description
The second edition of Energy Storage: A Nontechnical Guide presents a thoroughly updated examination of the technologies, markets, and strategies shaping today's storage landscape. Designed for engineers, analysts, and energy professionals, this edition expands on the first by providing deeper technical clarity, broader market coverage, and updated insights into system design, performance, and economics.
Baxter offers a practical, operations-driven perspective on how storage technologies function and where they create value. The book outlines the growing opportunities in front-of-the-meter, utility, and behind-the-meter markets; examines the performance and cost drivers that determine system viability; and explains how emerging technologies are expected to influence future deployments.
Readers gain a grounded understanding of storage technologies-from pumped hydro and lithium-ion to flow batteries, compressed air, mechanical systems, and next-generation chemistries-along with clear explanations of their applications, operational characteristics, and commercial potential.
With increasing pressure to integrate renewables, enhance grid reliability, and optimize market participation, this guide offers a structured, accessible reference for understanding how energy storage can serve as a critical component of modern power systems.
Features & Benefits
- Comprehensive Coverage of the Power Grid and Storage Role
- System Design, Cost Structure, and Performance Metrics
- Market-Specific Applications Across FTM, Utility, and BTM Segments
- Detailed Explanations of Established Storage Technologies
- Insight into Emerging and Next-Generation Technologies
- Context for Renewable Integration and Grid Modernization
- Forward-Looking Perspective on Industry Evolution
Audience
- Power System and Electrical Engineers
- Utility and Independent Power Producer (IPP) Professionals
- Energy Market Analysts and Planners
- Renewable Energy Developers and Project Managers
- Grid Operations and System Planning Teams
- Energy Policy, Regulatory, and Strategy Professionals
- Students
About the Author
Richard Baxter has been active in the energy storage industry for two decades, holding positions across the value chain, including Director of Product Strategy for Premium Power, and investment banker and equity analyst with Ardour Capital, strategy consultant for Charles River Associates, and an economist with Standard & Poor's DRI. He is currently the President of Mustang Prairie Energy.
Richard authors a U.S. DOE funded study series on Energy Storage Financing through Sandia National Laboratories, including "Energy Storage Financing: A Roadmap for Accelerating Market Growth" [SAND2016-8109], "Energy Storage Financing: Performance Impacts on Project Financing" [SAND2018-10110], and Richard authors a U.S. DOE funded study series on Energy Storage Financing through Sandia National Laboratories, including "Energy Storage Financing: A Roadmap for Accelerating Market Growth" [SAND2016-8109], "Energy Storage Financing: Performance Impacts on Project Financing" [SAND2018-10110], and "Energy Storage Financing: Advancing Contracting in Energy Storage" [SAND2019-12973].
Richard also authors the Energy Storage Pricing Survey series and the pricing chapter of the for the U.S. DOE's Energy Storage Handbook. Previously, as an Advisor to Enovation Partners, he conducted all pricing surveys and developed the capital pricing methodology for the Lazard Levelized Cost of Storage (LCOS) Survey 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0.
Richard is currently the Executive Director of the Reducing Investment Risk in Energy Storage Financing working group and on the Advisory Committee for Inlyte Energy, Inc. He was previously the Executive Director of the Advancing Contracting in Energy Storage (ACES) Working Group. He has served as a board member of the Energy Storage Association, the Charitable Foundation of the Energy Bar Association, and was Chairman of the Board of NovoCarbon Corporation (TSX-V:GLK). He is a Member Emeritus of the Energy Storage Association. Richard holds a BS, Materials Engineering from Virginia Tech and an MS, Energy Policy from the University of Pennsylvania.
Details
Type: eBook
Pages: 176
Published: January, 2026
ISBN: 9781955578356
