Posted on 01/09/2012 11:30:36 AM PST by bananaman22
2011 saw huge advances in solar, wind and other renewable energy sources, and these advancements will continue into 2012. In fact 2012 could be the year that renewable energy sources start to seriously compete with traditional fossil fuels, at least that is the hope in the battle to reduce carbon emissions and our dependence on dwindling oil stocks. However a major problem with renewable energy sources is that they can rarely provide consistent power levels, due to a myriad of factors outside of human control.
Eric Wesoff, an industry analyst with Greentech Media, explains that, “A wind farm only works when the blades are spinning. It might have a nameplate capacity of 100 megawatts, but it never puts out that much. Sometimes it’s 70; sometimes it’s nothing. To a grid operator, that kind of resource is a headache rather than an aspirin.” To overcome these fluctuations energy storage systems can be used to store excess power at peak generating times and release it when needed to provide a more constant level. “So now that 100-MW wind farm can say, ‘We’re a 40-MW, steady-state, 24/7 energy source’—more like a coal plant. That’s more valuable to society.”
The most abundant energy storage system in use around the world is the battery, but producing giant batteries for the electrical grid has always been very expensive. Lots of research has been done into small batteries for mobile phones and MP3 players, etc. and now, according to Haresh Kamath, program manager for energy-storage research at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). “The research applied to those industries is now being applied to batteries for the grid.” In fact the world’s largest battery array, a $500 million system capable of storing 36 megawatt-hours of electricity, has recently been completed in China by the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) and the electric car maker BYD. As part of China’s push toward a smart grid system for renewable energy, the battery has been hooked up to 140 megawatts of solar and wind power generation as well as a smart grid transmission system. And we can expect more of these battery facilities after the Deputy Director of China’s National Energy Administration called it the model for the future of Chinese renewable energy development. Full article at: Football Pitch-Sized Batteries Could Change the World of Renewable Energy
Complete with the Undead Thread zombie apocalypse.
Pumped Hydro storage is the most efficient and economic energy storage system over a long period of time with daily cycles. The efficiency of this system is typically between 70% and 85%.
http://www.electricitystorage.org/technology/storage_technologies/technology_comparison
Wow! Have you any examples?
BS
Show me a windfarm that runs at a 40% capacity factor.
More likely 25%.
Just another green company to short.
Wind turbines are often locked down so that they can’t be damaged by high winds. What you saw might have been a day that was essentially, “too windy.” Neat, huh?
Someone affiliated with the Department of Energy has been going back to make changes to press releases posted on the Internet weeks and months ago, CNBC has found. The changes occurred in two press releases from the Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program — the same program that has been the center of controversy surrounding the failed solar company Solyndra.
Both were changed to remove the name of a company that has received negative press attention in recent days, SunPower, and replace it with the name of another company, NRG Energy [NRG 20.89 -0.14 (-0.67%) ].
Generally, it is not considered correct procedure to revise old press releases retroactively on the Web. More commonly, government agencies will issue a new press release with a current date explaining any changes that have occurred.
In the April case, the Department of Energy loan programs office announced in a press release on April 12 “conditional commitment” to a $1.187 billion loan guarantee to support the California Valley Solar Ranch project, which it said was “sponsored by SunPower Corporation.”
But that release was later changed on one website to say the project was “sponsored by NRG Energy.” The date on the release remained “April 12, 2011.”
Batteries would just make it more expensive.
Futball (soccer) is played on a “pitch”. Football (American) is played on a field.
The pitch is somewhat larger than the field.
—What you saw might have been a day that was essentially, “too windy.” Neat, huh?—
What it is is laughable. :)
I actually wondered that at the time and said to myself, “Naw. That would be stupid.”
Not really. In the Days of Sail, ships would “reef their sails”, taking-in canvas so as to limit the dangerous effects of high wind gusts that might damage or roll a ship. It’s the same principle, really.
—Not really. In the Days of Sail, ships would “reef their sails”, taking-in canvas so as to limit the dangerous effects of high wind gusts that might damage or roll a ship. It’s the same principle, really.—
But the sailors didn’t completely remove the sails. When the wind turbines are stopped, the blades are feathered. Why can’t they just partially feather them for high wind? That’s why I thought it was “stupid” to just turn them off if the wind is high.
Regarding the ships, I assume that is why they have those horizontal rows of string in the sails every few vertical feet.
They would vary the pitch of the wind mill blades according to the wind-speed, but that would be affective only up to a certain point and then they’d have to lock the rotor down.
Regarding the sailing ships: in very high winds you might see all the square sails furled and only the jib sheets and a stern lanteen mast rigged to maintain some directional control.
That was the White County Wind Farm you drove through on I-65.
Obama’s Chinese-made, stimulus paid-for windmills don’t run when the temps get above 90 degrees. They could burn out in the heat...
They don’t run when it’s too COLD...
They don’t run if the wind is gusting over 38MPH...
They don’t run if there is no wind above 8MPH...
They don’t run in icing conditions...
They don’t run during storms...
The BEST Purdue University has been able to get out of the HUGE, federally-subsidized White County Wind Farm is LESS THAN 30% Efficiency..
30 FREAKIN’ PERCENT EFFICIENCY!!!
OK, so if Pumped Storage is 70%-85% Efficient, what is Wind to Electricity, to the Best Battery to Generator efficiency? and how long would the Storage life compare?
I can’t get too excited about this when solar powered flying cars are just around the corner.
They were probably shut down. If it’s too windy they will blow themselves up so they have to be shut down.
“2011 saw huge advances in solar, wind and other renewable energy sources, “
What?!
Can anyone point me to a “huge advance” story that does NOT contain the words “could” or “might” or some similar qualifier? I don’t think so.
I follow this site on a regular basis and have noted they are very pro wind and solar energy. Go into their comments section and and it won’t take long to see who their audience is.
I find Fuel Fix, Institute for Energy Research and Rig Zone are better informed.
It also assumes that the renewable energy source produces more energy than the grid demands in order to put the excess power into the batteries.
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