Energy Storage, Small Time August 20, 2015
Posted by dvgibson in Energy.add a comment
At the same forum at E2Tech I mentioned in the last post Geoff Sparrow, Director of Engineering at RevEnergy presented a paper on how businesses and homeowners can get involved in solar energy collection and storage. There are apparently many different inverters available, Solar Edge and Sunny Island were mentioned. But beyond the inverter is the software that manages the energy. This is something I need to dig into more to better understand. Emphasis is made on adjusting demand to availability, which does not require storage. But try convincing the masses of that. I want heat when I am cold, cooling when I am hot. To take a shower when its time to get out the door and on my way, dry my clothes when the washer is done. So local storage can be a big help here.
And btw, I mean no disrespect to their efforts by saying “small time”. In aggregate it will be big time. There is the potential of 1000’s of small private storage islands compared to a single massive storage bank the power company might implement.
To see his slides:
Energy Storage Big Time August 19, 2015
Posted by dvgibson in Energy.add a comment
Tesla is making some headlines by offering their battery technology to be used in homes for energy storage. They are thinking of storing off peak energy at (perhaps) lower rates, and then using it later during peak times. Or perhaps when the power goes out. And you don’t have to be the one that uses it, it could be fed back into the grid and you get credit for it. And there is a bonus, when the power goes out you can use this in stead of having to having to run a generator. Or you could have a generator that would recharge your battery and smooth out the ups and downs of your own demand. Like for me during storm outages when we are running on generator and the sump pump is running every 15 seconds. It sucks a lot power for about 5 seconds and then is off for 10 .
Recently E2Tech had a Forum in Portland on Energy Storage, Saving for a (Renewable) Rainy Day). Johannes Rittershausen, Managing Director of Convergent Energy + Power who is partner in New England’s first utility-scale electricity storage system delivered a paper on energy storage for power companies. Maine could make use of this. We have areas that are sparsely populated down some long branch lines until the tourists arrive. Right now we have to have enough power plants capacity to serve the peak, the rest of time it is slacking. Local energy storage would allow them to “fill up the tank” during off hours and let it shave off the peak demand.
Old fashion lead acid batteries are the least expensive and we know how they work but have a short life time. Lithium Ion batteries are the new cool thing and getting better everyday and have a better life time. Remember, renewable is a goal. Lead acid is not really all that renewable. For that matter, neither is Li-Ion. But they could do for now, while we look for a better way.
I got a smile out of the mention of a project at Boothbay, Maine. It is one of my favorite places and I went there many years ago to bid on a project on Squirrel Island, and got it, and have returned as recently as this past week just to enjoy what the area has to offer. And I can see why, having grown up with a power electrical engineer father, why a town with large seasonal variations down a long branch line would need some smoothing out.
See his presentation at http://e2tech.org/Resources/Documents/Rittershausen_Convergent_E2Tech_6-18-15_FINAL.pdf
Deep Ocean to Deep Space 