Enhancing renewable energy integration through energy storage and smart grid innovations: A systematic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61435/jese.2025.e38Keywords:
Grid Management, Electric Vehicles (EVs), Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), Renewable Energy, Energy Storage Systems (ESS)Abstract
This study presents a systematic review of advancements in energy storage technologies and intelligent grid management systems and evaluates their combined role in enhancing the reliability, efficiency, and integration of renewable energy sources. A comprehensive search across major databases identified 170 records, of which nine studies met PRISMA-based inclusion criteria after rigorous screening. The findings indicate that energy storage technologies, particularly lithium-ion batteries, pumped hydro storage, and emerging hybrid systems, significantly improve grid stability by mitigating renewable intermittency, supporting load balancing, and optimizing charge–discharge cycles through advanced scheduling techniques. Parallel innovations in smart grid technologies, including advanced metering infrastructure, demand response mechanisms, enhanced forecasting tools, and communication-enabled automation, strengthen real-time system flexibility and reduce operational stress associated with fluctuating renewable output. Integrated approaches, especially Virtual Power Plants that aggregate distributed energy resources, demonstrate superior performance by enabling coordinated dispatch, improving system resilience, and supporting higher levels of renewable penetration. Despite these benefits, challenges such as high capital costs, uneven technological readiness, regulatory gaps, and cybersecurity vulnerabilities persist. Overall, the review underscores that the convergence of advanced storage technologies with digitally optimized grid architectures is essential to achieving stable, efficient, and low-carbon electricity systems capable of supporting global decarbonization goals.
References
Asiaban, S., Kayedpour, N., Samani, A. E., Bozalakov, D., De Kooning, J. D. M., Crevecoeur, G., & Vandevelde, L. (2021). Wind and Solar Intermittency and the Associated Integration Challenges: A Comprehensive Review Including the Status in the Belgian Power System. Energies, 14(9), 2630. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14092630
Atawi, I. E., Al-Shetwi, A. Q., Magableh, A. M., & Albalawi, O. H. (2023). Recent Advances in Hybrid Energy Storage System Integrated Renewable Power Generation: Configuration, Control, Applications, and Future Directions. Batteries, 9(1), 29. https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries9010029
Bakare, M. S., Abdulkarim, A., Zeeshan, M., & Shuaibu, A. N. (2023). A comprehensive overview on demand side energy management towards smart grids: challenges, solutions, and future direction. Energy Informatics, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42162-023-00262-7
Behabtu, H. A., Messagie, M., Coosemans, T., Berecibar, M., Anlay Fante, K., Kebede, A. A., & Mierlo, J. V. (2020). A Review of Energy Storage Technologies’ Application Potentials in Renewable Energy Sources Grid Integration. Sustainability, 12(24), 10511. https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410511
Bird, L., Milligan, M., & Lew, D. (2013). Integrating Variable Renewable Energy: Challenges and Solutions. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), 1-14. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy13osti/60451.pdf
Booth, A., Papaioannou, D., & Antea Sutton. (2012). Systematic approaches to a successful literature review. Sage, 2, 1-329. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew-Booth-2/publication/235930866_Systematic_Approaches_to_a_Successful_Literature_Review/links/5da06c7f45851553ff8705fa/Systematic-Approaches-to-a-Successful-Literature-Review.pdf?_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIiwicGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIn19
Bos, J. W., Castryck, W., Iliashenko, I., & Vercauteren, F. (2015). Privacy-friendly Forecasting for the Smart Grid using Homomorphic Encryption and the Group Method of Data Handling. Cryptology EPrint Archive (Eprint.iacr.org), 1-19. https://eprint.iacr.org/2016/1117.pdf
Byrne, P. & Lalanne, P. (2021). Parametric Study of a Long-Duration Energy Storage Using Pumped-Hydro and Carbon Dioxide Transcritical Cycles. Energies 14(15): 4401. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/en14154401
Chakraborty, M. R., Dawn, S., Saha, P. K., Basu, J. B., & Ustun, T. S. (2022). A Comparative Review on Energy Storage Systems and Their Application in Deregulated Systems. Batteries, 8(9), 124. https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries8090124
Chidolue, N. O., Bright Ngozichukwu, Ifeanyi, K., Fafure, V., Daudu, D., & Ikenna, V. (2024). Advancements in energy storage technologies: A review across Canada, USA, and Africa. Global Journal of Engineering and Technology Advances, 18(1), 001–008. https://doi.org/10.30574/gjeta.2024.18.1.0011
Chou, C.-H., Ngo, S. L., & Tran, P. P. (2023). Renewable Energy Integration for Sustainable Economic Growth: Insights and Challenges via Bibliometric Analysis. Sustainability, 15(20), 15030. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152015030
Cowan, K., & Daim, T.U. (2012). Integrated technology roadmap development process: Creating smart grid roadmaps to meet regional technology planning needs in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. 2012 Proceedings of PICMET '12: Technology Management for Emerging Technologies, 2871-2885. Integrated technology roadmap development process: Creating smart grid roadmaps to meet regional technology planning needs in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore
Deng, R., Yang, Z., Chow, M.-Y., & Chen, J. (2015). A Survey on Demand Response in Smart Grids: Mathematical Models and Approaches. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, 11(3), 570–582. https://doi.org/10.1109/tii.2015.2414719
Di Fazio, A.R., Erseghe, T., Ghiani, E. et al. Integration of renewable energy sources, energy storage systems, and electrical vehicles with smart power distribution networks. J Ambient Intell Human Comput 4, 663–671 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12652-013-0182-y
Elomari, Y., Norouzi, M., Marín-Genescà, M., Fernández, A., & Boer, D. (2022). Integration of Solar Photovoltaic Systems into Power Networks: A Scientific Evolution Analysis. Sustainability, 14(15), 9249. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159249
Erdiwansyah, Mahidin, Husin, H., Nasaruddin, Zaki, M., & Muhibbuddin. (2021). A critical review of the integration of renewable energy sources with various technologies. Protection and Control of Modern Power Systems, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41601-021-00181-3
Fang, X., Misra, S., Xue, G., & Yang, D. (2012). Smart Grid — The New and Improved Power Grid: A Survey. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 14(4), 944–980. https://doi.org/10.1109/surv.2011.101911.00087
Gagnon, P., Pham, A., Cole, W., Awara, S., Barlas, A., Brown, M., Brown, P., … et al. (2024). 2023 Standard Scenarios Report: A U.S. electricity sector outlook (NREL / TP-6A40-87724). National Renewable Energy Laboratory. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy24osti/87724.pdf
Gellings, C. W. (1985). The concept of demand-side management for electric utilities. Proceedings of the IEEE, 73(10), 1468–1470. https://doi.org/10.1109/proc.1985.13318
Genc, T. S., & Kosempel, S. (2023). Energy Transition and the Economy: A Review Article. Energies, 16(7), 2965. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16072965
Gowrisankaran, G., Reynolds, S. S., & Samano, M. (2011). Intermittency and the value of renewable energy (NBER Working Paper No. 17086). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w17086
Guerra, O. J., Zhang, J., Eichman, J., Denholm, P., Kurtz, J., & Hodge, B.-M. (2020). The value of seasonal energy storage technologies for the integration of wind and solar power. Energy & Environmental Science, 13(7), 1909–1922. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ee00771d
Gür, T. M. (2018). Review of electrical energy storage technologies, materials and systems: challenges and prospects for large-scale grid storage. Energy & Environmental Science, 11(10), 2696–2767. https://doi.org/10.1039/c8ee01419a
Hedges, L. V., & Kuyper, A. M. (2015). Meta-analysis: Theory. In International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed., pp. 272-281). Elsevier Inc. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.42081-7
Higgins, J. P. T., Altman, D. G., Gøtzsche, P. C., Jüni, P., Moher, D., Oxman, A. D., Savović, J., Schulz, K. F., Weeks, L., Sterne, J. A. C., & Cochrane Bias Methods Group. (2011). The Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing risk of bias in randomised trials. BMJ, 343(7829), d5928. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d5928
International Energy Agency (IEA). (2021). Global Energy Review 2021: Renewables. https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2021/renewables
International Energy Agency (IEA). (2022). Renewables 2022. https://www.iea.org/reports/renewables-2022
International Energy Agency. (2023, April 5). Managing seasonal and interannual variability of renewables. https://www.iea.org/reports/managing-seasonal-and-interannual-variability-of-renewables
International Energy Agency (IEA). (2024, January 11). Massive expansion of renewable power opens door to achieving global tripling goal set at COP28. https://www.iea.org/news/massive-expansion-of-renewable-power-opens-door-to-achieving-global-tripling-goal-set-at-cop28
International Renewable Energy Agency, World Meteorological Organization & Copernicus Climate Change Service. (2025, March). 2023 year in review: Climate-driven global renewable energy potential, resources, and energy demand. https://www.irena.org/Publications/2025/Mar/2023-Year-in-Review-Climate-driven-Global-Renewable-Energy-Potential-Resources-and-Energy-Demand
Jaiswal, K. K., Chowdhury, C. R., Yadav, D., Verma, R., Dutta, S., Jaiswal, K. S., SangmeshB, & Karuppasamy, K. S. K. (2022). Renewable and sustainable clean energy development and impact on social, economic, and environmental health. Energy Nexus, 7, 100118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nexus.2022.100118
Kataray, T., Nitesh, B., Yarram, B., Sinha, S., Cuce, E., Shaik, S., Vigneshwaran, P., & Roy, A. (2023). Integration of smart grid with renewable energy sources: Opportunities and challenges – A comprehensive review. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 58, 103363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2023.103363
Liu, C., Yang, R. J., Yu, X., Sun, C., Rosengarten, G., Liebman, A., Wakefield, R., Peter SP Wong, & Wang, K. (2023). Supporting virtual power plants decision-making in complex urban environments using reinforcement learning. Sustainable Cities and Society, 99, 104915–104915. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2023.104915
Liu, J., Hu, H., Yu, S. S., & Trinh, H. (2023). Virtual Power Plant with Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Storage Systems for Sustainable Power Grid-Formation, Control Techniques and Demand Response. Energies, 16(9), 3705. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16093705
Manousakis, N. M., Karagiannopoulos, P. S., Tsekouras, G. J., & Kanellos, F. D. (2023). Integration of Renewable Energy and Electric Vehicles in Power Systems: A Review. Processes, 11(5), 1544. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11051544
McKinsey. (2022, October 28). Renewable energy development in a net-zero world. McKinsey. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/electric-power-and-natural-gas/our-insights/renewable-energy-development-in-a-net-zero-world
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., & The PRISMA Group. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA Statement. PLOS Medicine, 6(7), e1000097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097
NBER Working Paper Series. (2011). Intermittency and the value of renewable Energy. National Bureau of Economic Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138. Intermittency and the Value of Renewable Energy
Ochoa, D.E., Galarza-Jimenez, F., Wilches-Bernal, F., Schoenwald, D.A., & Poveda, J.I. (2023). Control Systems for Low-Inertia Power Grids: A Survey on Virtual Power Plants. IEEE Access, 11(1):20560-20581. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3249151
Ohanu, C. P., Rufai, S. A., & Oluchi, U. C. (2024). A comprehensive review of recent developments in smart grid through renewable energy resources integration. Heliyon, 10(3), e25705. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25705
Pigott, T.D. (2012). Planning a Meta-analysis in a Systematic Review. In: Advances in Meta-Analysis. Statistics for Social and Behavioral Sciences. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2278-5_3
Pasetti, M., Rinaldi, S., & Manerba, D. (2018). A Virtual Power Plant Architecture for the Demand-Side Management of Smart Prosumers. Applied Sciences, 8(3), 432. https://doi.org/10.3390/app8030432
Rahman, S. M., & Miah, M. D. (2017). The impact of sources of energy production on globalization: Evidence from panel data analysis. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 74, 110–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.02.037
Sahoo, S. K., Yanine, F. F., Kulkarni, V., & Kalam, A. (2023). Recent Advances in Renewable Energy Automation and Energy Forecasting. Frontiers in Energy Research. https://doi.org/10.3389/978-2-8325-2529-6
Samadi, P., Mohsenian-Rad, A.-H., Schober, R., Wong, V. W. S., & Jatskevich, J. (2010). Optimal real-time pricing algorithm based on utility maximization for smart grid. In 2010 First IEEE International Conference on Smart Grid Communications, Gaithersburg, MD, USA, 415-420. https://doi.org/10.1109/smartgrid.2010.5622077
Sharma, P., Reddy Salkuti, S., & Kim, S.-C. (2022). Advancements in energy storage technologies for smart grid development. International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering (IJECE), 12(4), 3421. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijece.v12i4.pp3421-3429
Vicente, M., Imperadore, A., Correia, F. X., Vieira, M., & José Cândido. (2023). Enhancing Islanded Power Systems: Microgrid Modeling and Evaluating System Benefits of Ocean Renewable Energy Integration. Energies, 16(22), 7517. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16227517
Wang, W., & Lu, Z. (2012). Cyber security in the Smart Grid: Survey and challenges. Computer Networks, 57(5), 1344–1371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comnet.2012.12.017
Wang, Y., Yang, Z., Mourshed, M., Guo, Y., Niu, Q., & Zhu, X. (2019). Demand side management of plug-in electric vehicles and coordinated unit commitment: A novel parallel competitive swarm optimization method. Energy Conversion and Management, 196, 935–949. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2019.06.012
Worku, M. Y. (2022). Recent Advances in Energy Storage Systems for Renewable Source Grid Integration: A Comprehensive Review. Sustainability, 14(10), 5985. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14105985
Wu, C., Zhang, X.-P., & Sterling, M. (2022). Solar power generation intermittency and aggregation. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 1363. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05247-2
Yang, Z., Zhang, J., Kintner-Meyer, M. C. W., Lu, X., Choi, D., Lemmon, J. P., & Liu, J. (2011). Electrochemical Energy Storage for Green Grid. Chemical Reviews, 111(5), 3577–3613. https://doi.org/10.1021/cr100290v
Yang, D., Lv, Y., Ji, M., & Zhao, F. (2024). Evaluation and economic analysis of battery energy storage in smart grids with wind photovoltaic. International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies, 19, 18–23. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijlct/ctad142
Zhang, Y.-J., & Peng, H.-R. (2017). Exploring the direct rebound effect of residential electricity consumption: An empirical study in China. Applied Energy, 196, 132–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.12.087
Downloads
Submitted
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Kaseem A. Obakhume, Faith F. Opatola
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Journal of Emerging Science and Engineering published under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License / CC BY 4.0 This license permits anyone to copy and redistribute this material in any form or format, compose, modify, and make derivative works of this material for any purpose, including commercial purposes, so long as they include credit to the Authors of the original work.
