Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Batteries and Alternative Energy
As a sometime critic of alternative energy's viability, I see this as moving in the right direction.
Unfortunately, the Chinese appear to have a big head start...
Unfortunately, the Chinese appear to have a big head start...
James Burgess writes about it at OilPrice.com:
"However a major problem with renewable energy sources is that they can rarely provide consistent power levels, due to a myriad of factors outside of human control.
Eric Wesoff, an industry analyst with Greentech Media, explains that, 'A wind farm only works when the blades are spinning. It might have a nameplate capacity of 100 megawatts, but it never puts out that much. Sometimes it’s 70; sometimes it’s nothing. To a grid operator, that kind of resource is a headache rather than an aspirin.' To overcome these fluctuations energy storage systems can be used to store excess power at peak generating times and release it when needed to provide a more constant level. “So now that 100-MW wind farm can say, ‘We’re a 40-MW, steady-state, 24/7 energy source’—more like a coal plant. That’s more valuable to society.'"
