electricity storage: can it work? - battery energy storage system
FORTUNE --
The strange thing about electricity is that it is the only commodity we can think ---
In addition to the chocolate milk cake ---
This must be consumed at the moment of manufacture.
Electricity travels through the grid at the speed of light.
Things that are not used are wasted.
Now, a new industry that can change all this is emerging.
Pike Research said sales of "grid storage" could reach $35 billion, up from $1, by 2020. 5 billion today
This is how it works.
A major problem with wind power is that the wind does not blow constantly.
When it stops, a sudden power failure causes the grid to flash and pop up.
Also, when a lot of power is not needed and most of it is wasted, the wind blows more at night.
Solution: save energy in large storage systems and be ready when needed.
About 130 companies, many of them start-ups, are now betting on storage technologies that used to turn to heat gravel pits to caves full of compressed air.
Big guys are playing too. GE (Fortune 500 GE)
Investing $0. 15 billion to buy a sodium
A battery factory that sells storage equipment to utility companies.
Denmark's Amplex has announced that it will build a $4 billion energy storage facility along the Mexican border.
A promising technology is lithium. ion batteries --
The same is used in electric vehicles.
This is not an accident.
World producer of lithium-
Samsung, China's BYD, andA123 plasma battery in South Korea (AONE)in the U. S.
Consider grid storage as a huge potential market.
First, the efficiency of fossil fuel plants will be improved using battery technology. AES (
Fortune 500 AES
The company operates more than 130 power facilities worldwide and has installed A123-made batteries at its coal plant in Chile.
They can provide electricity when demand surges for the second time.
The plant had to run 93% of its capacity before that, so it could increase if demand soared.
The battery can handle spikes, so the factory today can run at full speed.
Chris Shelton, president of AES power storage, said the efficiency of the power plant has increased by 4%.
Critics of grid storage say we don't need it-
The technology is expensive and it will be better to manage consumer demand.
This means that if the wind farm is powered off, just use the smart grid to turn off each person's water heater for a few minutes until the power level is restored.
Andy Chu, vice president of marketing at Volkswagen Watertown A123.
Counter: "The price of this technology is falling rapidly and it may theoretically be feasible to close someone's water heater, but this ability is not universal.
"Storage has huge potential.
It can be used to quickly charge electric vehicles without tightening the grid.
Home storage devices can absorb power from rooftop solar panels on cloudy days.
John Newman of McKinsey said, "This technology will subvert various industries.
"Prepare for the shock of the future.