You know, those damn environmentalists, they want to change the world or something ... make it safe for future generations and stuff. What are they thinking? It's not like Energy grows on trees ...
Crazy Windmills
http://youtu.be/...
They dot the landscape along the desert floor, 90 miles east of L.A. They spin through an ever-present Coastal Wind from the Pacific Ocean.
[...]
Each Windmill can produce 300 kW per hour -- enough energy for a typical household for a month.
At a cost of $300K each, these Windmill were engineered by NASA, and are maintained with the help of local and state subsidies.
OK, so clean green energy can be more than just a pipe-dream ...
Well then, who gets the Profits, once such wind farms (or solar farms) are in place?
Wouldn't it be nice if we, the people, could truly have "Public Utilities" again?
Might even pay for itself in the long-run ... that'd be very nice, too.
Humanity, smartly using the abundant resources, Nature provides Free ... damn socialist, environmentalists ... What are they thinking? ... Dreamers!
The rap against Green Energy has been, "the Sun don't shine at night."
These days however, the Storage Tech is catching up with that "No 24/7 Sun" challenge, and even on a commercial scale. Who knew?
Energy Storage Industry Grows To Integrate Wind, Solar
by Robert Crowe, Contributor -- RenewableEnergyWorld.com
August 17, 2011
[...]
“We still hear people say storage isn’t ready for primetime, but that isn’t the case because we already have 20-MW storage plants being built all over the country,” said Brad Roberts, executive director of the Electricity Storage Association (ESA).
As more renewable energy hits the grid, generators and independent system operators are looking to new storage systems to provide emissions-free backup and regulation when intermittency interrupts solar and wind power.
“We are interested in the potential of battery storage to be a game changer in our industry in both regulated utilities and commercial businesses,” said Greg Efthimiou, spokesman for Duke Energy, which operates more than 1,000 MW of wind farms.
[...]
Here's a quick survey of the various Storage Methods being looked at for the efficient management of all that abundant Green Energy that Nature provides -- analysis from the no-nonsense Electricity Storage Association:
Electricity Storage Association (ESA) is an international trade association established to foster development and commercialization of energy storage technologies.
The mission is to promote the development and commercialization of competitive and reliable energy storage delivery systems for use by electricity suppliers and their customers.
Electricity Storage Association
Technology Comparison
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Batteries that rely on Air? -- who knew? ... ESA did.
Metal-Air Batteries
Electricity Storage Association
Technology Description
Metal-air batteries are the most compact and, potentially, the least expensive batteries available. They are also environmentally benign. The main disadvantage, however, is that electrical recharging of these batteries is very difficult and inefficient. Although many manufacturers offer refuelable units where the consumed metal is mechanically replaced and processed separately, not many developers offer an electrically rechargeable battery. Rechargeable metal air batteries that are under development have a life of only a few hundred cycles and an efficiency about 50%.
Ok, those "Air Batteries" may have a few more innovation cycles to go through -- BUT these Lithium Batteries don't.
Lithium-ion (Li-ion) Batteries
The main advantages of Li-ion batteries, compared to other advanced batteries, are:
-- High energy density (300 - 400 kWh/m3, 130 kWh/ton);
-- High efficiency (near 100%); and
-- Long cycle life (3,000 cycles @ 80% depth of discharge).
AND there are other Storage options, that give us more of that all important commercial bang-for-the-buck (from the upper right quadrant of the previous chart.)
Compressed-air energy storage (CAES)
Electricity Storage Association -- April 2010
Technology Description
Compressed-air energy storage (CAES) uses off peak electricity to compress air into either an underground structure (e.g., a cavern, aquifer, or abandoned mine) or an above ground system of tanks or pipes. The compressed air is then mixed with natural gas, burned, and expanded in a modified gas turbine. In a conventional gas turbine, roughly two thirds of the power produced is consumed in pressurizing the air before combustion. CAES systems produce the same amount of electric power as a conventional gas turbine power plant using less than 40% of the fuel. Recent advancements in the technology include above-ground storage in empty natural gas tanks and ‘mini-CAES’, a transportable technology that can be installed at or near individual loads (e.g., on urban rooftops).
[...]
Research is also ongoing to develop adiabatic CAES systems in which the heat of compression is stored and reused to heat the compressed air before expansion thus eliminating the use of natural gas in the system.
How about recycling some of those old Water tanks and Hydro turbines principles ...
Pumped Hydro (PH)
Electricity Storage Association -- April 2010
Technology Description
Conventional pumped hydro uses two vertically-separated water reservoirs. During off peak hours water is pumped from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir. When required, the water flow is reversed to generate electricity. Some high-dam hydro generating plants have a storage capability and can be dispatched as a pumped hydro. Underground pumped storage, using flooded mine shafts or other cavities, is also technically possible.
[...]
Pumped storage is the most widespread energy storage system in use on power networks. Its main applications are for providing energy management, frequency control, and reserve capacity. Over 90 GW of pumped-hydro storage, representing approximately 3% of global generation capacity, are currently installed worldwide.
And of course the better and smarter and more efficient our National Energy Grid becomes, the more the Grid itself becomes the defacto "Energy Storage device".
Just put it on the Grid, somebody will use it, somewhere. Kind of like the Internet that way, eh? And what a world, it will be ...
Primetime, may not just be for television Program Directors anymore. Nature has a few engaging sit-coms Reality Shows too.