MINNESOTA WIND INTEGRATION STUDY: UP TO 25% WIND CAN BE INCORPORATED RELIABLY

[JohnWxy]

INTO ELECTRIC POWER SYSTEM.


http://www.awea.org/newsroom/releases/Groundbreaking_Minnesota_Wind_Integration_Study_121306.html

[kestrel91316]

1. I can think of a certain fan of nukes who isn't going to like hearing this.

[Dogmudgeon]

2. Who would that be?

The last time I checked, ALL of us "fans" were strongly in favor of renewable non-nuclear energy sources, too.

--p!

[meow mix]

5. correction please.

you claim to support non-nuclear energy, what actually happens is anytime a non-nuclear idea comes across you take a big crap all over it. (because it doesnt support your personal agenda i guess?)

well maybe not you in particular but certainly thats the behavior of the lobby

[Dead_Parrot]

3. I'm not a fan of nukes...

But I am a fan of doing something about the other 75% as well, which seems to equate to the same thing.

[JohnWxy]

4. Wind power can handle the other 75% of power demand with vanadium redox flow batteries

http://www.vrbpower.com/technology/ess-benefits.html

Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries

The vanadium radox battery energy storage system (VRB) is a flow battery that is capable of storing energy in multi megawatt ranges and for durations of hours or days - from any available input source such as the grid, renewable resources or a diesel generator. The stored energy can be returned to the grid or supplied to a load as required and directed. The VRB is capable of being charged as quickly as it was discharged and is able to respond to all forms of power quality variations and can be operated in a UPS mode as well. For loads which require reactive energy, the VRB can provide VARS on a continuous basis either when charging or discharging. Flow batteries are further described in this previous post.

The durability and wide design options of vanadium batteries promise large markets for many applications, such as load leveling, storage in renewable energy systems (e.g. wind and solar) and uninterpretable power supplies.


Performance

The VRB has an availability of greater than 98%. It is designed for unattended operation with very low maintenance costs.

No degradation from repeated deep charges and discharges. The system can be discharged and charged greater than 13,000 times (20% to 80% SOC) without deterioration in system efficiencies.
System round-trip efficiencies between 70% - 78%.

The VRB-ESS has a charge/discharge window of 1:1 - allowing off-peak charging for on-peak dispatch - a fraction of the time required by other battery systems and ideal for wind generation applications.

Cross mixing of electrolytes does not lead to contamination of electrolytes

Indefinite life of electrolyte (no disposal or contamination issues).

Once charged, the electrolyte remains fully charged with low self-discharge.

[Dead_Parrot]

6. I do sctually like VR batteries

But with a density of ~20 Wh per litre of sulphuric acid, they would present a whole new set of problems scaled up to the TWh range.