The Anonymous Widower

The Power Of Solar With A Large Battery

This post is based on this press release from Highview Power, which is entitled Highview Enlasa Developing 50MW/500MWh Liquid Air Energy Storage Facility In The Atacama Region Of Chile.

This is the first paragraph.

Highview Enlasa, the 50/50 joint venture between Highview Power, a global leader in long duration energy storage solutions, and Energía Latina S.A.-Enlasa, the largest backup power generation provider in Chile, is pleased to announce that it is developing the first liquid air long duration energy storage project in Chile. This 50MW/500MWh (10 hours) CRYOBattery™, which represents an estimated investment of USD $150 million, will be located in Diego de Almagro in the Atacama Region.

Ican deduce these points from this paragraph.

The power output of 50 MW appears to be standard for all of Highview Power’s CRYOBatteries, which is not surprising as the centre of each system appears to be a standard turbomachinery solution from MAN Energy Solutions, as I wrote about in MAN Energy Partners With Highview Power On Liquid-Air Energy-Storage Project.

But whereas the first system at Carrington, near Manchester, can only store 250 MWh, this plant in Chile is twice the size and can provide 50 MW of electricity for ten hours. The Chile plant will just have twice the number of storage tanks for liquid air.

I can no reason, why if Carrington needed to store more electricity, that more tanks couldn’t be added.

This Google Map shows the area around the city of Diego de Almagro.

Note.

1. The city of Diego de Almagro is in the centre of the map.
2. In the North-Western corner is the Planta Fotovoltaica ENEL Diego de Almagro, which even my rudimentary Spanish, identifies as a solar power plant.
3. In the North-Eastern corner of the map, is appears that a second solar power plant is under construction.

The city is surrounded by the large Atacama Desert.

This second Google Map shows the location of Diego de Almagro, with respect to the Chilean Coast.

Note.

1. The red arrow indicates the solar powerplant at Diego de Almagro.
2. La Paz in Bolivia is in the North-East corner of the map.
3. The sandy-beige colour indicates the Atacama Desert.

The area would appear not to lack sun.

This extract is from the press release.

With one of the highest solar irradiations in the world, the Atacama Region has the potential to generate all the country’s electricity. By pairing solar with cryogenic energy storage, Chile can benefit from 24/7, 100% renewable energy.

The Wiukipedia entry for Solar Power In Chile, is not as optimistic as the press release, but does show the rapid growth in the amount of solar power.

Conclusion

Solar power installed with large batteries, will transform the electricity supply in countries like Australia, Chile and India and those in Africa and other places, where there are large hot deserts.

In Europe, Spain is investing heavily in solar power and is a big innovator in solar technology.

July 1, 2021 - Posted by AnonW | Energy, Energy Storage | Africa, Atacama Desert, Australia, Chile, Highview Power, India, Solar Power, Spain