3 ms·

i did read it. It is a mischaracterisation because the two are not comparable as time is ignored. To achieve functional parity with a fuel-powered generator suc

i did read it. It is a mischaracterisation because the two are not comparable as time is ignored. To achieve functional parity with a fuel-powered generator such as a nuclear plant, you would need to guarantee identical operation with an array of wind generators. At the moment, this is only possible over large geographical areas. As for battery capacity, you seem to underestimate how much electrical energy even small cities use. The limiting factor is capacity. FYI, the US consumes around 3,800 terawatt hours of electrical energy annually. Good luck powering even a fraction of that for more than a few seconds with a battery.

cogman10 5y ago
> As for battery capacity, you seem to underestimate how much electrical energy even small cities use. I'm not sure where you get that impression. We are manufacturing around 500 GWh of new batteries yearly right now [1]. To put that in perspective, that's enough capacity for 1 hour of US annual energy consumption per year. 1 hour is a lot of time to bring up new power generation plants in the event of an outage. That production rate has been accelerating with the new demand for EVs. That is likely to double or triple within the next few years. The current largest battery plant weighs in at 1.6GWh, which is more than enough to power a city of 100k for several hours (it isn't currently used for that, it is stabilizing regional power). Like all things, battery power will first be able to handle seconds, then minutes, then hours, and finally days worth of power requirements. For grid stabilization, that's more than enough capacity requirements. And, as I said earlier, batteries are good for any grid, regardless of energy source. It allows a nuclear operator to run the plant harder and it allows plants to ditch fast ramping plants for more economical slow ramp plants. [1] https://energycentral.com/c/ec/world-battery-production https://energycentral.com/c/ec/world-battery-production

cogman10 5y ago

> As for battery capacity, you seem to underestimate how much electrical energy even small cities use. I'm not sure where you get that impression. We are manufacturing around 500 GWh of new batteries yearly right now [1]. To put that in perspective, that's enough capacity for 1 hour of US annual energy consumption per year. 1 hour is a lot of time to bring up new power generation plants in the event of an outage. That production rate has been accelerating with the new demand for EVs. That is likely to double or triple within the next few years. The current largest battery plant weighs in at 1.6GWh, which is more than enough to power a city of 100k for several hours (it isn't currently used for that, it is stabilizing regional power). Like all things, battery power will first be able to handle seconds, then minutes, then hours, and finally days worth of power requirements. For grid stabilization, that's more than enough capacity requirements. And, as I said earlier, batteries are good for any grid, regardless of energy source. It allows a nuclear operator to run the plant harder and it allows plants to ditch fast ramping plants for more economical slow ramp plants. [1] https://energycentral.com/c/ec/world-battery-production https://energycentral.com/c/ec/world-battery-production