How Tesla Batteries Are Powering an Energy Revolution

[MindMover]

Those Tesla Motors lithium-ion battery packs aren’t just powering electric luxury sports sedans for the 1 percent any more.

They’ve started appearing in a small number of California homes to store electricity generated by rooftop solar panels, and beginning today SolarCity, the Silicon Valley solar installer, will start providing Tesla batteries for businesses that want to cut their utility bills. A big box retailer like Walmart could charge up a Tesla battery pack with cheap energy produced by its SolarCity rooftop photovoltaic array and then tap that power when demand—and electricity rates—spike.

That would let them minimize paying their local utility high “demand charges” for electricity when they need it most. And the cost of the SolarCity’s system, called DemandLogic? Effectively zero, according to SolarCity, since the monthly payments for energy storage would be less than the money saved by not forking over cash to the utility.

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/12/how-tesla-batteries-are-powering-an-energy-revolution/282056/

[PoliticAverse]

1. "SolarCity spokesman Jonathan Bass was sketchy on the details on how the economics pencil out" n/t

[MindMover]

2. "when providing energy storage to customers for no money down." NT

[DeSwiss]

3. The Oligarchy......

...don't like it when you mess with ''their thing.'' They got it working jus' like they want it now. More or less. And they don't appreciate it when someone comes along fucking things up and messing wit' the cashflows! This may cause legislation to be proposed. A new ''off-set'' tax created. Or, somebody could get hurt.

- The key is to keep everyone just a little behind and always trying to catch-up......

K&R

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. Was in the news recently. ALEC (I think) is pushing for just such a tax. nt

[MindMover]

6. Free who said free ... Energy ain't free ...

Last edited Sat Dec 7, 2013, 04:03 PM - Edit history (1)

[djean111]

5. Yes, the ALEC whores do not want us citizens interfering with oil and coal and gas and nuclear

profits. or the pollution they spew.
Batteries and solar panels and local grids and true independence will be battled every step of the way.
I get the feeling that solar panels in the United States sort of were regarded by the ALEC whores as a fad, and now they are saying oh fuck, this stuff might eat into our profits, let's fee and tax them right into the ground.

[hunter]

7. Lithium batteries may not be the best bet for stationary applications...

... where mass doesn't matter so much.

The ideal home battery would last a century, be easily recycled, be relatively non-toxic, and tolerate abuse.

[MindMover]

8. That storage system is being developed ....

[hunter]

9. I know people are messing around with NiMH cells taken from wrecked hybrid cars.

Newer hybrids are using lithium.

There's also the good old Edison Battery. Those are available again and are very robust, but not as efficient and more expensive than lead-acid batteries.

Anyone who has worked with lead-acid batteries will learn to loathe them, and they are a major toxic hazard in places where recycling technologies are primitive, which is MOST OF THE WORLD.

Some of the liquid metal battery designs look interesting. In these two liquid metals and a salt electrolyte are separated by density.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/the-smarter-grid/a-liquid-metal-battery-for-grid-storage-nears-production

[MindMover]

10. Hitachi will start testing in USA in 2014 ...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-02/hitachi-announces-storage-technology-for-renewable-energy.html

[quadrature]

11. any specifics on price?

seems like it would be a great idea if the price
is right.

also, is there some reason that this concept only
works in the US?

[MindMover]

12. Price is no money down ... and Germany and other European countries ...

have been utilizing this technology for at least 5 years ....