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The new Tesla installation in Southern Australia is 100MW. I don't know the specifics, but the combined battery capacity of the two big Southern California util
by phil248 9y ago
The new Tesla installation in Southern Australia is 100MW. I don't know the specifics, but the combined battery capacity of the two big Southern California utilities is at least 120MW, including one 80MW installation (also by Tesla). The three big CA utilities are mandated by law to have at least 1,800MW of battery storage by 2024.
None of this is intended to provide a consistent source of electricity. They're intended to fill in the gaps from uneven renewable energy production or other disruptions. Apparently, it's been working very well in Southern Australia.
Thermal storage is a promising solution because it will likely end up being considerably cheaper than batteries. The most promising type is salt storage for concentrated solar plants. They can potentially store enough heat energy to maintain consistent output all night long. Wind doesn't get that same deal - currently unused Wind power can only be stored as electricity.
- Klathmon 9y agoOut of curiosity, why isn't "physical" storage used more? Like pumping a bunch of water up high, or spinning a big ass flywheel. I understand a flywheel might not be realistic at these scales, but water pumping seems like it could scale stupidly high.
- cesarb 9y agoPumped storage has the same problem as hydro, namely, the number of places suitable to placing the large reservoirs required by it is limited.
- throwaway7645 9y agoPumped storage is actually quite common where you have a lot of dams. The Bonneville Power Administration in the upper Westside of the US can essentially press a button and have quite a bit of power due to all the dams.