MIT Technology Review: The $2.5T Reason CA Can’t Rely Upon Batteries to Keep the Lights On

Weatherman2020

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A great follow project for California’s train to nowhere that is twice over budget and no track yet.

MIT Technology Review: The $2.5 trillion reason we can’t rely on batteries to clean up the grid

The Clean Air Task Force recently found that reaching the 80 percent mark for renewables in California would mean massive amounts of surplus generation during the summer months, requiring 9.6 million megawatt-hours of energy storage. Achieving 100 percent would require 36.3 million. The state currently has 150,000 megawatt-hours of energy storage in total, mainly pumped hydroelectric storage with a small share of batteries.


Building the level of renewable generation and storage necessary to reach the state’s goals would drive up costs exponentially, from $49 per megawatt-hour of generation at 50 percent to $1,612 at 100 percent. And that’s assuming lithium-ion batteries will cost roughly a third what they do now. Similarly, a study earlier this year in Energy & Environmental Science found that meeting 80 percent of US electricity demand with wind and solar would require either a nationwide high-speed transmission system, which can balance renewable generation over hundreds of miles, or 12 hours of electricity storage for the whole system. At current prices, a battery storage system of that size would cost more than $2.5 trillion. “The system becomes completely dominated by the cost of storage,” says Steve Brick, a senior advisor for the Clean Air Task Force. “You have to pause and ask yourself: Is there any way the public would stand for that?”
 
A great follow project for California’s train to nowhere that is twice over budget and no track yet.

MIT Technology Review: The $2.5 trillion reason we can’t rely on batteries to clean up the grid

The Clean Air Task Force recently found that reaching the 80 percent mark for renewables in California would mean massive amounts of surplus generation during the summer months, requiring 9.6 million megawatt-hours of energy storage. Achieving 100 percent would require 36.3 million. The state currently has 150,000 megawatt-hours of energy storage in total, mainly pumped hydroelectric storage with a small share of batteries.


Building the level of renewable generation and storage necessary to reach the state’s goals would drive up costs exponentially, from $49 per megawatt-hour of generation at 50 percent to $1,612 at 100 percent. And that’s assuming lithium-ion batteries will cost roughly a third what they do now. Similarly, a study earlier this year in Energy & Environmental Science found that meeting 80 percent of US electricity demand with wind and solar would require either a nationwide high-speed transmission system, which can balance renewable generation over hundreds of miles, or 12 hours of electricity storage for the whole system. At current prices, a battery storage system of that size would cost more than $2.5 trillion. “The system becomes completely dominated by the cost of storage,” says Steve Brick, a senior advisor for the Clean Air Task Force. “You have to pause and ask yourself: Is there any way the public would stand for that?”

Most Californians don’t even know what day of the week it is, much less know anything about electrical engineering
 
I am independent of the electrical grid as I have solar power and a backup/night time battery.
 
No, you silly half wit. Tax Man is absolutely 21st century. In fact, solar with a battery storage plant on homes in large numbers can act as a large power station. And lower the cost of electricity for all the people participating.

 
A great follow project for California’s train to nowhere that is twice over budget and no track yet.

MIT Technology Review: The $2.5 trillion reason we can’t rely on batteries to clean up the grid

The Clean Air Task Force recently found that reaching the 80 percent mark for renewables in California would mean massive amounts of surplus generation during the summer months, requiring 9.6 million megawatt-hours of energy storage. Achieving 100 percent would require 36.3 million. The state currently has 150,000 megawatt-hours of energy storage in total, mainly pumped hydroelectric storage with a small share of batteries.


Building the level of renewable generation and storage necessary to reach the state’s goals would drive up costs exponentially, from $49 per megawatt-hour of generation at 50 percent to $1,612 at 100 percent. And that’s assuming lithium-ion batteries will cost roughly a third what they do now. Similarly, a study earlier this year in Energy & Environmental Science found that meeting 80 percent of US electricity demand with wind and solar would require either a nationwide high-speed transmission system, which can balance renewable generation over hundreds of miles, or 12 hours of electricity storage for the whole system. At current prices, a battery storage system of that size would cost more than $2.5 trillion. “The system becomes completely dominated by the cost of storage,” says Steve Brick, a senior advisor for the Clean Air Task Force. “You have to pause and ask yourself: Is there any way the public would stand for that?”

Most Californians don’t even know what day of the week it is, much less know anything about electrical engineering
I kind of picture the normal person from CA walking down the street hand and hand with their "whatever" while smoking a Bong and singing a "Mama and Poppa s " song from the 60 s
 
It is relevant because you take the setup Tax Man has, multiply it by 100,000, and you have a 500 Mw power station. Just hook them to the grid. Power in numbers.
 

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