Two megawatts of (lithium-ion) batteries connected to power grid (energy storage)

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9985393-54.html?hhTest

July 8, 2008 9:48 AM PDT

Two megawatts of batteries connected to power grid

Posted by Martin LaMonica

Giant cousins of your laptop batteries are going to provide storage to the electricity grid.

http://www.altairnano.com/index.html">Altairnano on Tuesday said that Indianapolis Power & Light, a division of utility AES, completed tests for using two megawatts worth of its batteries to maintain grid frequency.

The two one-megawatt units--each housed in a semi-trailer--can store up to 15 minutes worth of electricity, or 250 kilowatt-hours each. (The average U.S. home consumes 920 kilowatt-hours per month.)

The tests are important because they demonstrated that lithium-ion batteries can be used for http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9977209-54.html">utility-grade energy storage. Right now, most short-term energy storage is done by lead acid batteries.

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[no limit]

1. That's not that much energy

especially for the size of those things. But it is a step in the right direction. If we stopped investing so much money in to nuclear weapons and moved some off that in to research like this we would be much further along.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. It's only a test installation

...

"This two-megawatt validation project is one of the final steps in our move towards commercial deployment of grid-scale energy storage," Chris Shelton, director of energy storage development at AES, said in a statement. "Fast-responding, high-efficiency energy storage systems such as these will create a more resilient grid and allow for increased use of variable generating sources such as wind and solar."

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[NYC_SKP]

3. A question on lead acid battery banks.

I'm in PGE service territory and work with some of their folks in solar, and with the energy commission and PUC.

In casual conversations, I've never found anyone who can confirm the existence of shacks filled with lead-acid batteries to maintain continuity or for back ups.

Could it be that these are only used by smaller utility companies?

By the way, California did quite nicely today, demand wise:

[NYC_SKP]

4. Never mind...

I found this while perusing the link you'd provided, thought it's not PGE.

thanks.

http://news.cnet.com/2300-13840_3-6242687-9.html?tag=ne.gall.pg