## 1 Introduction  
The continuously increasing carbon dioxide gas (CO\({}_{2}\)) emissions in the atmosphere and the continuous accumulation of this gas have ushered in global climate change (GCC) that promises to adversely affect the activities of humankind and alter our ecosystems. There is a wide consensus among scientists and engineers that a rational and feasible strategy to significantly mitigate the effects of GCC is to decrease and perhaps eliminate global CO\({}_{2}\) emissions. One must bear in mind that approximately 40% of the global primary energy sources are used for the generation of electricity and that 64% of the electricity is generated by fossil fuels--most commonly by natural gas, coal, and to a lesser extent petroleum [1]. Substituting the fossil fuels that generate electricity today with non-carbon energy sources--renewable energy sources (RES), nuclear power plants, or, more likely, a combination of the two--would immediately result in significant global CO\({}_{2}\) emissions reduction [2, 3]. A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommends that the CO\({}_{2}\) emissions from the electricity generation sector be reduced globally by 90% or more from the 2010 levels between the years 2040 and 2070 [4], while another and more recent report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) presents a \"roadmap\" for this transition to non-carbon energy sources [5]. Solar energy and wind energy are the most abundant RESs globally that may be harnessed in every region of the globe. However, solar energy is periodically variable, and wind energy is intermittent. On the other hand, the energy demand of consumers is dictated by the weather conditions and consumer habits and not by the availability of these energy sources. Presently, the fluctuating electricity demand of consumers is satisfied with the deployment of intermediate- and peak-power generation units, most of which use natural gas as their fuel [6]. The substitution of fossil fuels for electricity generation with RES creates a demand-supply mismatch during parts of the year. Oftentimes, the supply of RES-generated electricity exceeds the present demand, a situation that generates the so called \"duck curve\" for the demand-supply of electricity [7; 8]. At other times of the year, especially during the night-time, the supply is insufficient to meet the demand. This necessitates the development of significant, utility-level energy storage infrastructure that will be used to compensate for any deficit or surplus and equate the electricity demand to the available supply [9; 10]. A case study pertinent to France, which generates almost 80% of its electricity from nuclear energy, concluded that the higher utilization of RESs will significantly alter the shape of the hourly demand curve, and this necessitates the employment of other options such as energy storage or the waste of generated power [11]. A similar study recommended a hybrid system of high temperature gas reactors and RESs for grid stability and improved reliability [12]. A more recent study determined the needed utility-level energy storage capacity for the substitution of all the fossil power plants with RES in an entire electricity grid, and the potential effect of increased nuclear energy contributions to the electricity generation mix [13]. It must be noted that reservoirs used for hydroelectric generation also function as energy storage facilities [8]. As a result, countries with significant hydroelectric energy resources, such as Norway and Nepal, will not experience the demand-supply mismatch and the duck curve effects. However, there are very few countries that possess such high quantities of hydroelectric energy. It is widely expected that the duck curve supply-demand problems will become a reality for all countries, which are expected to primarily rely on solar and wind energy for the decarbonization of their electric power industries [7; 8; 14].