The Anonymous Widower

Centrica To Build Largest Battery Storage Project To Date

The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Centrica.

These three paragraphs outline the news.

Centrica Business Solutions has secured the development rights to a 65MW two-hour battery storage plant in Perthshire, Scotland, its largest battery storage acquisition to date.

The site in Abernethy is located near a connection for North Sea offshore wind farms and will help manage grid capacity by charging when demand for power is low, and discharging when demand is at its highest.

Once connected to the grid in 2028, the 65MW two-hour battery will be able to store enough electricity to power 130,000 homes for an hour – the equivalent to a town the size of Aberdeen. The discharge could happen up to four times a day.

This map shows the site of the substation at Abernethy.

It seems a site with enough space for a 65 MW/130 MWh battery.

But is that a railway running past the site in the South-East corner of the map?

Yes! It is the single-track unelectrified railway that is used by trains to go between Edinburgh and Perth.

  • There are stations at both ends of the single-track section at Ladybank and Perth.
  • Abernethy substation looks like it is about halfway between the two end stations.

This page on Scotland’s Railway is entitled Fife Electrification and lists these four phases.

  1. Haymarket and Dalmeny
  2. Kinghorn and Thornton North
  3. Thornton and Lochgelly
  4. Thorton and Ladybank

The page also says that the electrification will support BEMUs (Battery Electric Multiple Units)

I feel that the electrification to Ladybank and Centrica’s battery could be linked.

  • If the electrification was extended a few miles to Abernethy substation, this would surely be a reliable way to power the electrification.
  • It would also be ideally placed, if Perth and Ladybank were to be electrified.
  • The new battery would surely smooth out any deviations in the power supply.

I certainly don’t expect that Centrica will object to a new customer.

Electrification Between Edinburgh And Ladybank

Consider.

  • Edinburgh and Ladybank is 39 miles and takes a couple of minutes over an hour.
  • Once, the four phases of the electrification are complete, only the 13.6 miles between Dalmeny and Kinghorn, will be without electrification.
  • I doubt that Dalmeny and Kinghorn will ever be electrified, as it includes the Forth Rail Bridge.
  • Dalmeny and Kinghorn is 13.6 miles and takes around twenty-four minutes.

It looks like the BEMUs will be under wires for 25.4 miles and nearly forty minutes, which will be more than enough to charge the trains.

Edinburgh And Aberdeen

In Thoughts On Batteries On A Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, I said this about services between Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Consider.

    • The gap in the electrification is 130 miles between Edinburgh Haymarket and Aberdeen.
    • There could be an intermediate charging station at Dundee.
    • Charging would be needed at Aberdeen.

I think Hitachi could design a train for this route.

The 25.4 miles of new Fife electrification between Haymarket and Ladybank will reduce gap in the electrification to 105 miles and ensure trains leaving Ladybank for Aberdeen had a full battery.

 

July 7, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Centrica Bolsters UK’s Energy Security By Doubling Rough Storage Capacity

The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Centrica.

These are the first three paragraphs.

Following further engineering work and investment, Centrica has announced increased gas storage capacity at Rough, the UK’s largest gas storage facility.

The facility, which is 18 miles off the coast of East Yorkshire, stopped storing gas in 2017 but was re-opened for gas storage in October 2022. Rough now provides half of the UK’s total gas storage.

At the time of reopening Rough for gas storage it was able to store approximately 30 billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas for UK homes and businesses. Further investment in the facility means Rough will now be able to store up to 54 bcf of gas, boosting the UK’s energy resilience for the coming winter – this would provide the equivalent volume of gas to heat 2.4 million homes over winter.

This work and investment has increased the storage capacity by a massive eighty percent.

The news item finishes with this quote from Centrica Group Chief Executive, Chris O’Shea.

We stand ready to invest £2 billion to repurpose the Rough field into the world’s biggest methane and hydrogen storage facility, bolstering the UK’s energy security, delivering a net zero electricity system by 2035, creating 5,000 skilled jobs and decarbonising the UK’s industrial clusters by 2040. But to do this we need the right regulatory support framework. This world class North Sea asset has the potential to help the UK economy return to a position of being a net exporter of energy once again.

As East Yorkshire also boasts the Aldbrough Gas Storage in the salt formations under Hull, the area will have plenty of gas to keep them warm in the winter.

June 30, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , | 3 Comments

How Britain’s Biggest Natural Battery Can Help Deliver Net Zero

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in the New Statesman.

This is the sub-heading.

SSE wants to double the nation’s flexible electricity storage capacity.

These two paragraphs introduce the article.

After previous delays and false starts, governments and businesses across the world are pushing towards the common goal of net zero. The energy sector is arguably the area with the biggest responsibility to work towards this target, and there is no time for complacency.

Ensuring clean, renewable energy sources such as hydrogen, wind and solar power become a larger part of the grid will be critical for the sector in its push towards net zero. A key facet of the clean energy drive will be having sufficient storage for each renewable power source kept in reserve, to be used as and when required as a crucial back-up mechanism. In last spring’s energy security review the government outlined its commitment to support long duration storage projects.

It is certainly very comprehensive and a must read.

This sentence illustrates the financial problem with pumped storage.

SSE is calling on the UK government to help it commit to building the Coire Glas storage facility by providing one simple policy decision that will send a clear signal as to how government intends to support the deployment of long duration electricity storage. The project doesn’t need subsidising, SSE states, but it would benefit from revenue stabilisation, and clarity on such support sooner rather than later.

Hopefully, this article will help get the required support.

Coire Glas

Coire Glas will have an output of 1500 MW and a storage capability of 30 GWh.

There is more information at the Coire Glas web site.

The project could be up and running by the early 2030s.

Loch Sloy Pumped Storage

The article also mentions the Loch Sloy Pumped Storage scheme, that has been recently announced by SSE.

I wrote about this 25 GWh scheme in SSE Unveils Redevelopment Plans For Sloy Hydro-Electric Power Station.

SSE haven’t announced much more about this scheme and it is not mentioned on the Sloy/Awe web site.

 

June 25, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , , | 2 Comments

Grain LNG Launches Market Consultation For Existing Capacity

The title of this post is the same as that of this press release from National Grid.

This is the sub-heading.

Grain LNG, the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Europe, is pleased to announce the launch of a market consultation for the auction of 375 Gwh/d (approx. 9 mtpa) of existing capacity. The initial consultation phase for the Auction of Existing Capacity will commence on 14 June and run until 26 July.

These paragraphs detail what Grain LNG, which is a subsidiary of National Grid are offering.

GLNG has used the positive feedback received from the recent ‘Expression of Interest’ exercise and subsequent market engagement to offer three lots of capacity:

  • Each lot will be entitled to 42 berthing slots, 200,000 mof storage and 125GWh/d (approx. 3 mtpa) of regasification capacity from as early as January 2029.
  • This product is specifically designed for parties who wish to acquire a substantial stake in a major terminal in Northwest Europe, at a reduced cost and with shorter contract lengths when compared to new-build projects.
  • As the terminal’s capacity already exists, parties involved will not be subjected to the FID approvals or potential delays that can arise from construction issues commonly associated with new build terminals.

Simon Culkin, Importation Terminal Manager at Grain LNG, said: “We are really pleased with the high level of interest shown by the market at a time of significant geo-political influence on our energy markets. It has allowed us to engage with potential customers and shape our offering to best meet their needs, whilst optimising access to this strategic asset. “

Reading the Wikipedia entry for the Grain LNG Terminal, it looks like it gets used as a handy store for natural gas.

About Phase 1 (2002–05), Wikipedia says this.

The new facilities enabled the Grain terminal to become a base supply to the NTS, with the ability to deliver gas continuously when required. The cost of the Phase 1 project was £130m. A 20-year contract with BP / Sonatrach enabled Grain LNG to import LNG on a long-term basis from July 2005.

About Phase 2 (2005–08), Wikipedia says this.

The development provided an additional five million tonnes of capacity per annum. All this capacity was contracted out from December 2010. Customers included BP, Iberdrola, Sonatrach, Centrica, E.ON and GDF Suez.

Under Current Facilities, Wikipedia says this.

Grain LNG Ltd does not own the LNG or the gas that it handles but charges for gasifying it. Current (2016) users include BP, Centrica (British Gas Trading), Iberdrola (Spain), Sonatrach (Algeria), Engie (France), and Uniper (Germany).

National Grid must be pleased that some customers seem loyal.

I feel that National Grid’s basic plan is to carry on with more of the same.

But will they develop more storage and other facilities on the site.

There are certainly other projects and interconnectors, that make the Isle of Grain and energy hub connecting the UK, Netherlands and Germany.

I could also see National Grid building an East Coast interconnector to bring power from the wind farms off the East Coast of England to the Isle of Grain for distribution.

These are major wind farms South of the Humber.

  • Dudgeon – 402 MW
  • East Anglia 1 – 714 MW
  • East Anglia 1 North – 800 MW
  • East Anglia 2 – 900 MW
  • Galloper – 504 MW – RWE
  • Greater Gabbard – 504 MW
  • Gunfleet Sands – 174 MW
  • Hornsea 1 – 1218 MW
  • Hornsea 2 – 1386 MW
  • Hornsea 3 – 2852 MW
  • Humber Gateway – 219 MW
  • Lincs – 270 MW
  • London Array – 630 MW
  • Lynn and Inner Dowsing – 194 MW
  • Race Bank – 580 MW
  • Scroby Sands – 60 MW
  • Sheringham Shoal – 317 MW
  • Triton Knoll – 857 MW –  RWE
  • Dogger Bank A – 1235 MW
  • Dogger Bank B – 1235 MW
  • Dogger Bank C – 1218 MW
  • Dogger Bank D – 1320 MW
  • Dogger Bank South – 3000 MW  RWE
  • East Anglia 3 – 1372 MW
  • Norfolk Boreas – 1396 MW
  • Norfolk Vanguard – 1800 MW
  • Outer Dowsing – 1500 MW
  • North Falls – 504 MW – RWE
  • Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon Extensions – 719 MW
  • Five Estuaries – 353 MW – RWE

Note.

  1. These figures give a total capacity of 28,333 MW.
  2. Five wind farms marked RWE are owned by that company.
  3. These five wind farms have a total capacity of 5618 MW.
  4. Will RWE export, their electricity to Germany through NeuConnect?

I can certainly see National Grid building one of the world’s largest electrolysers and some energy storage on the Isle of Grain, if an East Coast Interconnector is built.

 

 

June 18, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Did I See The UK’s Hydrogen-Powered Future In Hull Today?

I went from London to Hull today on Hull Trains for £50.80 return (with my Senior Railcard) to see SSE’s presentation for their Aldbrough Pathfinder Hydrogen project, which will feature a 35 MW green hydrogen electrolyser and 320 GWh of hydrogen storage in the thick layers of salt under East Yorkshire.

  • Green electricity would come mainly from the part-SSE owned 8 GW Dogger Bank wind farm complex.
  • According to their web site, Meld Energy are planning a 100 MW electrolyser, which would produce 13,400 tonnes of hydrogen per year.

Every large helps!

  • It should be noted that the thick layers of salt stretch all the way to Germany, and as drilling and storage technology improves, the amount of hydrogen storage available will increase.
  • I was also impressed by the ambition, competence and enthusiasm, of the SSE engineers that I met.
  • As has been pointed out, HiiROC, who have backing from Centrica, Hyundai, Kia and others, are also in Hull!

I believe, that I saw our hydrogen-powered future in Hull today!

We need more hydrogen mega-projects like these! Perhaps in Aberdeen, Clydeside, Freeport East, Isle of Grain, Merseyside, Milford Haven and Teesside?

June 6, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage, Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

SSE Unveils Redevelopment Plans For Sloy Hydro-Electric Power Station

The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from SSE Renewables.

These are the two bullet points of the news item.

  • Scotland First Minister Humza Yousaf welcomes plans to convert conventional hydro plant to new, flexible pumped hydro storage facility
  • If approved for delivery Sloy could provide firm, flexible renewable energy for up to 160 hours non-stop, enough to power 90,000 homes for one week

This is the introductory paragraph.

SSE Renewables, as part of SSE plc, has unveiled plans to convert its 152.5MW Sloy Power Station, Britain’s largest conventional hydro power plant, into a new pumped hydro storage facility to bolster energy security and help provide the large-scale and flexible renewable energy back-up needed in a future UK net zero power system.

And this describes the output and storage capacity.

Subject to final design, the converted Sloy scheme would be capable of delivering up to 25GWh of long-duration electricity storage capacity. At the flick of a switch, the converted Sloy scheme could provide firm, flexible renewable energy for up to 160 hours non-stop, enough to power around 90,000 homes for up to one week.

The Loch Sloy Scheme

In A Lower-Cost Pumped Hydro Storage System, I described the Loch Sloy scheme, as it currently exists.

Whilst writing some of the posts recently about pumped storage I came across the Loch Sloy Hydro-Electric Scheme.

This is the introductory sentence in Wikipedia.

The Sloy/Awe Hydro-Electric Scheme is a hydro-electric facility situated between Loch Sloy and Inveruglas on the west bank of Loch Lomond in Scotland.

This page on the Greenage web site gives comprehensive details of the power station and is well worth a read.

This Google Map shows the Lochs Sloy and Lomond.

Note.

  1. Loch Sloy is in the North-West corner of the map.
  2. The page on Greenage says that Loch Sloy can store 14 GWh of electricity
  3. Loch Lomond is the body of water towards the Eastern side of the map.
  4. Inverglas is on the West bank of Loch Lomond to the North of the Loch Lomond Holiday Park, which is indicated by the green arrow with a tent.

This second Google Map shows the power station and Inverglas.

Note.

  1. It is a classic layout for a hydro-electric power station.
  2. In the North West corner of the map is the valve house, which is connected to Loch Sloy by a three kilometre tunnel.
  3. The valve house controls the water flows to the power station by Loch Lomond.
  4. There are four two-metre pipes running down the hill, one for each of the four turbines.
  5. According to the page on Greenage, the power station has three 40 MW turbines and one 32 MW turbine, which gives a total output of 152 MW.
  6. The water discharges into Loch Lomond after doing its work in the power station.

Loch Sloy is the largest conventional hydroelectric power plant in the UK.

The 2010 Plan To Add Pumped Storage To The Loch Sloy Hydro-Electric Scheme

This page on Hydro Review, which is dated the 10th of November 2010, is entitled SSE Gets Government Consent For Sloy Pumped-Storage Hydropower Project.

These are the first paragraph.

SSE Generation Ltd., the wholly owned generation business of Scottish and Southern Energy, has received consent from the Scottish Government to develop a 60-MW pumped-storage hydro project at its existing Sloy hydropower station at Loch Lomond, SSE reported.

Note.

  1. Two 30 MW pumps will be added to the power station to pump water up the hill from Loch Lomond to Loch Sloy.
  2. According to the page on Greenage, if the two pumps worked together for six hours, they would transfer 432,000 m3 of water. Note that a cubic metre of water weighs a tonne.
  3. Water would be transferred, when there was a surplus of energy being generated over the demand.

It would appear to be a simple scheme, as it is just adding two pumps to pump the water up the hill.

  • As pumps rather than pump/turbines as at Foyers are used, there is no corresponding increase in generating capacity.
  • Water also appears to be pumped up to the valve house in the existing pipes.
  • Loch Sloy and Loch Lomond would not need major works to enable the scheme..

The page on Greenage gives the cost at just £40 million.

Originally, the project was supposed to have started in 2012, but as there are environmental problems with the fish, the work has not started.

These problems are detailed on the page on Greenage.

It looks like this scheme would have had an output of 152.5 MW and a storage capacity of 14 GWh.

Expanding Loch Sloy

Yesterday’s press release says this about the proposed capacity of the proposed Loch Sloy pumped storage scheme.

Subject to final design, the converted Sloy scheme would be capable of delivering up to 25GWh of long-duration electricity storage capacity.

This Google Map shows Loch Sloy.

This second Google Map shows the dam at the Southern end.

Note.

  1. Earlier, I said that Loch Sloy can store 14 GWh of electricity.
  2. To be able to store 25 GWh would need a 78 % increase in capacity.

This could be possible to be obtained by enlarging the dam and perhaps reprofiling the banks of the loch.

Expanding Loch Slow Power Station

This Google Map shows the Loch Sloy dam and the power station.

Note.

The dam is in the North-West corner of the map.

The power station is in the South-East corner of the map.

This repeat of the second Google Map shows the power station in more detail.

There appears to be plenty of space for more turbines, pumps and other electrical gubbins.

Building The Scheme

There may be enlarged buildings and extra pipes up the mountain, but hopefully the major problem of digging more tunnels through the rock may be avoided.

For these reasons, it could be a relatively easy construction project costing tens of millions.

The 14 GWh scheme from 2010 was costed at £40 million, so this 25 GWh scheme would probably cost no more than double or £80 million.

Conclusion

This is a sensible and affordable scheme, that provides a lot of energy storage

May 23, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , | 6 Comments

Gresham House Energy Storage Sets GBP80 Million Fundraise

Gresham House Energy Storage Fund must be doing something right, as similar headlines are used in half-a-dozen places on the Internet and they regularly seem to be raising more money.

But then, as a Graduate Control Engineer and a previous owner of half a finance company, I’ve always thought raising money to build batteries was a good idea.

My only niggle with Gresham House, is that I would have thought by now, they would have put some money into building one of the excellent new technology batteries that are coming through.

The storage fund or some of its employees, may of course have contributed to some of the crowdfunding for these new technologies, all of which I feel have a good chance of being a success.

Note.

  1. Energy Dome is Italian and all the others are at least fifty percent British.
  2. Most of the British batteries have had backing from the UK government.
  3. All these batteries are environmentally-friendly.
  4. None of these batteries use large quantities of rare and expensive materials.
  5. Energy Dome even uses carbon dioxide as the energy storage medium.

In addition, in Scotland, there is traditional pumped storage hydro-electricity.

Project Iliad

This article on renews.biz has a slightly different headline of Gresham House To Raise £80m For US Battery Buildout.

This is the first two paragraphs.

Gresham House Energy Storage Fund is seeking to raise £80m through a share placing.

The new equity raised will primarily be used to finance 160MW of solar with co-located four-hour battery projects in California, US, known as Project Iliad.

The article then gives a lot of financial details of Project Iliad and Gresham House.

Will Gresham House be backing co-located solar/battery projects in the UK?

  • In Cleve Hill Solar Park, I write about a co-located solar/battery project in Kent.
  • This press release from National Grid is entitled UK’s First Transmission-Connected Solar Farm Goes Live, which also describes a co-located solar/battery project, being built near Bristol.

These two projects are certainly serious and could be pathfinders for a whole host of co-located solar/battery projects.

WillGresham House back some of this new generation?

 

May 18, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage, Finance | , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SSE Renewables Announces Construction Of Second Utility-Scale Battery Storage System

The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from SSE Renewables.

These three paragraphs outline the project and its current status.

SSE Renewables has taken a Final Investment Decision to proceed with, and entered into contracts to deliver, its second battery energy storage system (BESS). The 150MW project is located at the site of SSE’s former Ferrybridge coal-fired power station in West Yorkshire, England.

The investment is part of SSE’s £12.5bn Net Zero Acceleration Programme and means construction will now commence later this month at the iconic site.

For decades the Ferrybridge coal-fired power station was a prominent feature of the West Yorkshire landscape, before being decommissioned by SSE in 2016. Now SSE Renewables’ plans to build a new 150MW battery storage project at Ferrybridge will provide flexible generation for Britain’s national grid and a new era for the site.

This Google Map shows the site.

Note.

  1. The A1(M) runs up the West side of the map, with the East Coast Main Line going up the East.
  2. The circular structures in the middle of the map appear to be the bases and remains of the eight cooling towers.
  3. There are a lot of labels saying Ferrybridge power station.
  4. One existing and one demolished sub-stations can be located.
  5. The last Ferrybridge power station; C had a capacity of just over 2 GW.

The Wikipedia entry for Ferrybridge C, is worth a read, as it details the struggles of various owners and their engineers to generate electricity efficiently and with regard to the regulations.

The site’s use since 2016 seems to have been varied with two multi-fuel power stations, that were designed to burn mixed fuel including biomass, general waste and waste wood, a carbon capture experiment for Chris Huhne and now the 150 MW battery, which other sources give as having a storage capacity of 300 MWh.

It looks to me that SSE still own the large site and I wonder what their plans envisage for the site.

  • A large electrolyser to produce hydrogen could be invaluable for decarbonising the heavy industry in the area.
  • According to Wikipedia, there was a plan to build the gas-fired Ferrybridge D and a gas pipeline to connect it to the gas transmission system, but neither were built.
  • So could the gas pipeline be built to distribute the hydrogen?
  • Or could a large hydrogen store and a small hydrogen-powered power-station be built at Ferrybridge to back up the renewables
  • Alternatively, more batteries could be added to the site.

The size of the site, gives lots of possibilities.

 

 

May 16, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , | 1 Comment

ESB, Irish Port Team Up To Make Shannon Estuary Go-To Place For Floating Wind

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.

This is the sub-heading.

Irish energy company ESB and Shannon Foynes Port, the company with statutory jurisdiction over all marine activities on the Shannon Estuary, have entered into a collaboration to develop the region into a centre for the deployment of floating offshore wind projects in both Irish and international waters.

This is the introductory paragraph.

Back in 2021, ESB and its then-partner Equinor announced the development of the 1.4 GW Moneypoint floating wind farm in Ireland, with a broader plan under its Green Atlantic @ Moneypoint project to transform the Moneypoint power station in County Clare into a green energy hub and to support wider plans of Shannon Foynes Port to help make the Shannon Estuary a focal point for the offshore wind industry in Europe.

This Google Map shows the location of Moneypoint power station with respect to the Shannon Estuary.

Note.

  1. Moneypoint power station, which is indicated by the red arrow is on the River Shannon.
  2. The city pf Limerick is to the East of Moneypoint.
  3. There’s certainly a lot of water in the West for floating wind turbines.

This second Google Map shows a close-up of the power station.

This is a shortened version of the first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry for the power station.

Moneypoint power station is Ireland’s largest electricity generation station (output 915 MW) and only coal-fired power station. Commissioned between 1985 and 1987, it is located on the River Shannon near Kilrush, County Clare. It was constructed at a cost of more than £700m in one of the largest capital projects in the history of the state. The station operates largely on coal, making it both unique in the context of Irish electricity production and the country’s single largest emitter of greenhouse gases. It is capable of meeting around 25% of customer demand across the country. It has two Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) storage tanks with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes which can be used as a back-up fuel if required.

In some ways, the only good things about this power station are the grid connection that can handle most of a GW and the large site, which could be used for a variety of energy-related purposes, like green hydrogen generation and storage.

In Shannon Estuary Could Support Build-Out of 30 GW Of Floating Wind, House 2 GW of Electrolysis Capacity, I wrote about the potential of this area.

Those figures of 30 GW of floating wind ans 2 GW of electrolysers will certainly mean a lot of investment going into Moneypoint!

I would also feel, that Moneypoint will need a lot of energy storage to support and balance the grid.

 

 

May 15, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage, Hydrogen | , | 2 Comments

Boralex Commissions BESS At Wind Farm In France In EU-Supported Demonstration Project

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Energy Storage News.

These two paragraphs outline the project.

Canada-based renewable energy firm Boralex has turned on a 3.3MWh battery storage unit attached to a wind farm in France.

The battery storage project has been installed at the site of the Plouguin wind farm, an 8MW generating facility in the Finistere department of Brittany, northwest France.

Note.

  1. The project was co-financed by the European Union through its European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
  2. The project was launched to demonstrate the technical feasibility of a hybrid wind-plus-storage project.
  3. Boralex added in its announcement that the project will contribute to the stability of the French electricity grid.

There will be a lot of projects like this in the future.

This paragraph makes an interesting point about using batteries with solar and wind power.

Wind farms are less frequently hybridised with energy storage than solar PV because of the larger minimum project size and less predictable variability, with sharper peaks meaning heavier battery cycling and potentially faster degradation.

My control engineering knowledge and experience says that larger power sources and those that are highly variable will need batteries with more capacity for the same stability and quality of power output.

This sounds to me like a very good reason for developing larger and more affordable batteries, like those of Cheesecake Energy, Energy Dome, Gravitricity and Highview Power.

It also probably means that to stabilise several gigawatts of wind power, you need a very large amount of storage, that can only be provided by pumped storage hydroelectricity.

Conclusion

A very large amount energy storage is going to be needed.

Projects like these are essential to make sure we use them to their full possibilities.

May 2, 2023 Posted by | Energy, Energy Storage | , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment