Elon Musk’s Australian banter about batteries; battery challenge from wind; low cost pumped hydro storage; IEA wants stronger signals for new grid flexibility; facts and figures indicate limited role for battery storage in the big picture
Banter about batteries Tesla boss Elon Musk was quick to join the Twitter storm that erupted after 40,000 customers were deprived of their electricity supply in South Australia during a heat wave in February this year. The system operator said it ordered the cut in supply to avert the risk of rolling blackouts which may have resulted from insufficient generating capacity. In a bout of Twitter exchanges after the event, Musk offered a giant 100 MW battery solution at a "pack cost" (excluding infrastructure) of $250 for each kilowatt hour of storage capacity, delivered within 100 days or it would be free of charge. The cost is likely to be closer to $500/kWh once shipping, construction and infrastructure are accounted for, estimates Carnegi ...
Try FORESIGHT - 30 days for €29
Two-thirds of the business potential in energy efficiency remains untapped; sales figures for plug-in electric cars; cheaper by half to cut emissions with energy saving than green electricity; renewables push coal off the UK grid for a day; BP data reveals green energy trends; wind power supply not that susceptible to still winter weather; fuelish energy subsidies persist
Is electricity storage essential? Belief is a dangerous foundation for decision-making and beliefs about storage risk major investment errors
Special report - Electricity Storage part 2/5: Filling in for wind and solar over days of calm and cloudy weather is not a task storage can perform, even if it was a power system requirement
Special report - Electricity Storage part 3/5: By relieving grid bottlenecks of surplus supply and providing bursts of power when needed, storage can add sufficient value to find routes to profitability, but they are limited
Special report - Electricity Storage part 4/5: No means of affordably storing large volumes of electricity in all geographies exists, but a robust grid, connected over a wide area, can deliver green energy reliability
Special report - Electricity Storage part 5/5: The uptake of renewable energy does not increase the need for storage capacity, but stored power can help grid operators flexibly operate power systems, provided it can pay its way
Limitations on the supply of cobalt will restrict the production ramp-up of today’s lithium-ion batteries
A unique engineering project has raised the bar for efficient energy capture from incineration of garbage and provided a sports facility in an urban location
IEA boss Fatih Birol discusses the need and the tools for bettering the business case for renewable energy. Special report part 3/3