Everyone is talking about building very large #batteries for energy storage, for when the sun doesn't shine or the wind doesn't blow. Turns out, that is the most expensive solution. There are faster solutions that yield money.
"Lovins and many other #EnergyEfficiency experts have spent decades pointing out that an integrated system approach that focuses as much or more on consumption than supply will be so much cheaper than the current approach focused on supply."
@CelloMomOnCars one of the cheapest is being done in Finland storing energy as heat in sand, which is cheap, easy to obtain and has few environmental downsides.
As you say, most current utility batteries are for frequency stabilisation., and it's perfect for that. But the storage capacity is really too small to cover, say, an extended outage, never mind seasonal storage.
Natron Energy, a pioneer in sodium-ion battery technology, has officially commenced mass production of its lithium-free sodium batteries in its Holland, Michigan facility. Offering an alternative energy storage solution with benefits such as faster cycling, longer lifespan, and safer usage compared to lithium-ion batteries.
With this catalytic funding, our small collaboration to develop an open-source flow battery for stationary energy storage can further develop. We're planning on finalizing our small-scale benchtop kit (for R&D/educational use) before going to a larger cell design.
Very grateful for their support and belief in the project.
"#Batteries the biggest player again as renewable records smashed in #California, reach 156 pct of load
Last week battery storage became, for the first time, the largest supply source in the evening peak of what is one of the world’s largest grids. On Tuesday, it discharged more than 6 GW for the first time, providing up to a 25 per cent share of supply, and was the biggest provider on the grid for two hours."
"The records continue to tumble in #California, one of the world’s biggest state grids, with #BatteryStorage playing an increasingly dominant role soaking up solar in the middle of the day and shifting it to the evening peak, where it is now regularly the biggest single supplier."
"#Battery storage in #Victoria continues to displace gas as a provider into the evening peak, with more than 200 MW of battery output on Saturday night, and zero from the state’s peaking gas generators. Battery storage often supplies more into the evening peak than the gas generators, particularly at lower peak prices."
Want some #verisimilitude for your post-apocalyptic story? Four years after the pandemic started, 7 out of 7 examined #battery-powered candles had burst batteries. 3 out of 7 had destroyed circuitry and were irreparable. I restored four of the candles to working order with a lot of cleaning and scrubbing, but of course they required fresh #batteries.
Takeaway: Nothing battery-powered left for four years will work when found. Much of it will be destroyed.
Bonus: Gasoline has a shelf life and may be useless in 6-12 months. Sorry, no verisimilitude in Mad Max.
@benfulton@Patrickoldhiker@joat@Shanmonster
It's amazing what happens to bicycle tires with 5 years of no use. From experience. Conventional 10 speed bike. Better quality may last longer.
Was checking out some reports about the DRC and found this piece by the NPR. Just another "detail" western organizations pushed under the rug when talking about clean energy solutions.
Cobalt is mined using basically slave labour. The mines polute both soil, air, and water. Although nowadays we have a lithium battery type (LiFePO4) without cobalt, it's still used, and also in e.g. alloys and gas turbines.
It's going to be hard to develop cleaner alternatives when companies can continue to destroy lives and continents for free to fulfill demand. We have some alternatives (like sodium) that are way cleaner in terms of pollution and blood, and others that can be made cleaner like hydrogen fuel cells. And if the solution mentions profit, then they're not trying to solve anything.
… ummm, is this battery bulging??? I’ve never had that happen so I’m unsure what to do here. It feels… a lil spongy. Do they have a slight foam barrier orrrrr
@aud to store it while you figure out how to recycle it, put it some place cold where it's unlikely to get pierced or crushed. I had one inflate that started pushing out the track pad in my laptop for the better part of a year or so before I realized what was going on. iirc @mym put it in a stock pot on a shelf in our back room (which is quite cold typically) at our old place.
@aud also @mym correct me if I'm wrong, but it's probably safer to store if the battery has been fully discharged first? Although, no sense in putting it back now.
Can you safely revive a dead lithium-ion battery? Yes – here’s how
More and more devices now come kitted out with rechargeable lithium-ion batteries — you know, the ones that look like the old-style AA or C cell batteries, but are a slightly different size. The most common size is the now ubiquitous 18650, but ther ...continues
@danie10 I didn't read the entire thing. I just know that from my own experience and time when I was working in the service repair shop. Btw.. some of them shouldn't be even opened.
@glynmoody The UK is so bad at "green" energy, it needs to decarbonize 10% of it.
I do not like nuclear, but burning carbon fuels fouls the air, and kills quite a few people, very reliably, every year. I hate gambling, but the odds of nuclear killing you are likely lower.
Wind is the best green source, but needs to scale tenfold. Unlikely, due to nimbies.
Let's hope for fusion. Or something like improved hydrothermal.
...because UK energy policy is a hot mess.