In Brief
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 ...
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In brief
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
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