Utility-scale energy storage is a complex problem and the fuse of experimentation has been lighted.
Three or so trials of carbon-fiber flywheels are under way, including two in New York. In Massachusetts, Beacon Power is building a $69 million, 20 MW flywheel that spins when power is plentiful and transfer the motion back to electricity when it is not.
Compressed air storage is promising with players such as Energy Storage Power Corp. Compressed air is stored under ground and released to power a turbine when electricity is needed.
Flow batteries have attracted the interest of the Department of Energy and its money. The department put $7 million into a California demonstration of these water tank sized batteries planned by Premium Power Corp.
Sodium sulfur batteries are among the technologies being tested for large scale electricity grid storage
Other technologies are receiving similar attention: lithium ion batteries and lead acid batteries are being planned in massive scale. GE has said it will get into the sodium-based battery business and Ice Energy is installing its ice-based air conditioning technology in southern California.
It is impossible to know which technologies will win and whether any will ultimately make money. But with changing energy demand (i.e.: the prospect of tens of thousands of electric cars charging at night) and the introduction of intermittent renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, the need for grid storage is undeniable
On Thursday, three energy companies announced new ambitious trials of their own. American Electric Power and MidAmerican Energy Holdings said they powered up the nation’s largest utility-scale battery in Presidio, Texas. The $25 million, 4 MW, sodium-sulfur battery will provide backup power in the event of a transmission line outage. It will last for eight hours.
Valence Technology said its lithium ion batteries will be installed on the micro grid of a residential development near Houston. The batteries will make power available for electric-car charging stations and for appliances to run affordably during periods of peak energy demand, when rates can be higher.
The trial is being supported by Energy Department and private money.
Clearly, experimentation continues on a thousand fronts. Only as the tests play out will vendors know which technologies will survive and which run out of gas.
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