New Grid Battery Could Solve Peak Energy Demands
The company has created a battery control-management system, that when paired with a lithium ion battery, can store up to 20 kilowatt-hours. The system can then deliver a full 4,000 discharge cycles.
Ideally, utilities could charge the system at night when energy is cheaper to produce and then discharge that energy in to the grid during peak hours. Is it just me that hates using the word discharge?
“Utilities are far more receptive to distributed storage technologies than they are to smart grid, and for a reason,” CEO Rodney Smith told the Cleantech Group. “Grid replacement is like trying to replace the air traffic control system. You have to put a lot of money into it before you see any rewards from it. With our technology, you get the benefit right away.”
The part I am enthusiastic about is how the system can be paired up with renewable energy sources. For example, wind and solar could be better aligned with demand. And while consumers are not the target audience, Smith did say that the devices could be modified for home use.
Source: Cleantech Group | Photo: © Sofiaworld | Dreamstime.com
http://seekingalpha.com/article/90216-grid-based-energy-storage-birth-of-a-giant gives a business analysis of all sorts of other companies looking at energy storage to assist the grid, both with spikes and long-term. It’s a financial blog, so it’s looking at making money off of this, but no less useful.
How about “contribute” i/o discharge
In the future, unless people use a ton more energy, power companies are going to have to become focused on power storage and distribution, rather than power generation.
I would like a future of flying cars and and automated everything. So I am looking forward to a future of using a ton more energy.
While the use of grid storage for non-peak energy production is key, the author correctly sites the need for storage capacity in the renewable sector. Solar, wind, tides all experience variations that will benefit from the smoothing effect of storage devices.
Why bother with such huge batteries? Let’s get the electric car out of the workshop and onto the market. Every car battery plugged into the line, can function as a storage device for the grid when it’s not on the road.
Advanced Lead acid batteries will be much more cost effective where size is not a critical factor. They are a natural fit for this application. See John Peterson’s articles, in particular:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/120764-doe-report-lithium-ion-batteries-are-not-ready-for-prime-time