fractional slacker Posted July 2, 2015 Posted July 2, 2015 We don't need better energy storage. It wouldn't hurt, sure. What we need is to undue our politically motivated self-imposed energy production restrictions. We are the Saudi Arabia of coal. Let's use it already.
SigmaTau Posted July 3, 2015 Author Posted July 3, 2015 We dont have energy storage, thats the whole point. This is about utility plants storage scale, not your iphone battery. this story has nothing to do with oil, or politics or environmentalism, its about money and technology. Sure batteries are a leftist fav talking point, but this article is not about that either. Designing for grid "average load" instead of "peak load" will bring down infrastructure cost by 40%. Not to say, the network will become more distributed so multiple points of failure. 1
Hamish Posted July 3, 2015 Posted July 3, 2015 Bring on ocean current energy generation! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ocean-energy-turbine-climate-change-solution 24 hour, clean, abundant, affordable energy.
BenjaminRVA Posted July 12, 2015 Posted July 12, 2015 Really excited for grid-level storage, along with storage in homes. Electrical production, like much else, is going to get decentralized to the individual level. Here's a great primer on the disruption facing centralized utilities, from an industry think-tank, the Edison Electric Institute: http://www.eei.org/ourissues/finance/documents/disruptivechallenges.pdf
Pepin Posted July 12, 2015 Posted July 12, 2015 Not really an environmentalist, but I do think breakthrough and advancements in energy conservation are great. There is a lot of potential for creative destruction with energy tech. Though I may be wrong on this point, I'd argue that non-renewable energy has been hampered by the state. Gasoline is heavily subsidized and made artificially cheap, making alternatives less profitable. Chris Martenson has some pretty good material on this. Either way, gasoline is going to become unprofitable eventually, and well have a lot of of advancements in new technology which I see as a great opportunity for market competition. There is actually a youtuber I used to follow who made some sort of battery for his home. He'd charge it during the day during the low rate hours, and use it at night during the high rate hours. I guess it made a huge difference in his electric bill.
Magnetic Synthesizer Posted August 8, 2015 Posted August 8, 2015 The life expectancy of batteries is a let down on what would otherwise be an awesome longterm investement. what happens every decade or two^ the battery's capacity must be dead by more than half? I hope the costs of production are worth it. I know batteries are toxic and you shouldnt throw them in grabage, so there must be some stinky left-overs. I really like electricity and storage, but this stop me from being electrified in enthousiasm.
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