Could Big Batteries Be Big Business In California?
12 replies, posted
[URL="http://www.npr.org/2013/12/23/250031679/could-big-batteries-be-big-business-in-california"]NPR Story
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[quote=NPR]The California Public Utilities Commission has called on utilities and private companies to install about $5 billion worth of batteries and other forms of energy storage to help the state power grid cope with the erratic power supplied by wind and solar energy.
The need to store energy has become urgent because the state is planning to get a third of its electricity from renewable sources by the end of the decade. And the shift in strategy could open up some big opportunities for small startups, including one called Stem.
Stem is housed in an abandoned showroom in Millbrae, Calif., just across the highway from San Francisco International Airport. And the company is not just aiming to help the state's power grid.[/quote]
I'd like to see information on the energy expenditure in creating these batteries, as well as wind and solar power supplies. The cost of creation may negate any positive effects they could have had.
[QUOTE=kirito-kun;43284523]I'd like to see information on the energy expenditure in creating these batteries, as well as wind and solar power supplies. The cost of creation may negate any positive effects they could have had.[/QUOTE]
And the environmental impact, during manufacturing and at the end of life
I think Flywheels and pumped water is some of the coolest energy storage tech right now.
[QUOTE=OogalaBoogal;43287312]I think Flywheels and pumped water is some of the coolest energy storage tech right now.[/QUOTE]
Huge behemothic flywheels in a sealed absolute vacuum chamber seems the most likely all-round application.
Minimal friction, and the electric motor used to spin it also acts as the generator when harvesting the power back.
I was reading a thing a while back that talked about how, in the future, electric cars could function as batteries for the grid. If every household has one (or two) cars plugged in almost all the time, there's a massive amount of energy storage already hooked up to the grid. During peak power usage, a smart power grid could "take" some energy back to prevent brownouts, and during times of excess power generation it could charge people's cars beyond the 80% or so they charge to by default instead of shutting down wind turbines and whatnot.
Obviously this would require a complete rework of the power grid as well as software on the cars to handle it, but it was a neat thought
[QUOTE=Zeke129;43291255]I was reading a thing a while back that talked about how, in the future, electric cars could function as batteries for the grid. If every household has one (or two) cars plugged in almost all the time, there's a massive amount of energy storage already hooked up to the grid. During peak power usage, a smart power grid could "take" some energy back to prevent brownouts, and during times of excess power generation it could charge people's cars beyond the 80% or so they charge to by default instead of shutting down wind turbines and whatnot.[/QUOTE]
A few cities do this right now actually!
[QUOTE=OogalaBoogal;43291266]A few cities do this right now actually![/QUOTE]
What does it use to store the power? Current power grids don't know the difference between an electric car and a clothes dryer
[QUOTE=Zeke129;43291294]What does it use to store the power? Current power grids don't know the difference between an electric car and a clothes dryer[/QUOTE]
The cars! The charging stations handle the feeding back into the grid.
The new plugin Honda Accord Hybrid supports it. AC propulsion, the people who built the electric drivetrains for countless electric cars (Tesla, MiEV), have tested it, and it's slowly being put into new vehicles.
Solar powered Tesla Superchargers feed power back to the grid when not in use. Though it doesn't use the cars as a battery.
[QUOTE=OvB;43291362]Solar powered Tesla Superchargers feed power back to the grid when not in use. Though it doesn't use the cars as a battery.[/QUOTE]
Did a bit of googling, looks like the charging standard that Tesla uses can support V2G, albeit with a firmware upgrade. The CTO was quoted on saying that the car could theoretically support all operations of the standard.
[editline]24th December 2013[/editline]
This will be just like the battery packs, just another update.
[quote]erratic power supplied by wind and solar energy.
[/quote]
And now they find out, the hard way, why solar and wind power is a yuppietastic pipe dream on the best of days. This is why you shouldn't rely wind and solar power, ladies and gentlemen.
[QUOTE=TestECull;43291542]And now they find out, the hard way, why solar and wind power is a yuppietastic pipe dream on the best of days. This is why you shouldn't rely wind and solar power, ladies and gentlemen.[/QUOTE]
They didn't "find out", they knew this from the beginning. I think renewable energy is better than the alternative.
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