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Renewables are only cheaper if you ignore the challenges of using an intermittent energy source. There's no real cost estimate for storing and re-distributing e
by Manuel_D 4y ago
Renewables are only cheaper if you ignore the challenges of using an intermittent energy source. There's no real cost estimate for storing and re-distributing electricity, because there's no feasible plan to build an energy storage system at relevant scales.
Attempting to build just one hour of storage via lithium ion batteries would case the cost of batteries to skyrocket because 1 hour of global electricity use equates to 2,500 GWh. And annual battery output is only around 300 GWh. Supply shock would immediately drive up the cost of batteries.
- ZeroGravitas 4y agoAnnual battery production for EVs is estimated to grow from 160 gigawatt-hours (GWh) today to 6 600 GWh in 2030 – the equivalent of adding almost 20 gigafactories each year for the next ten years. So we're building those batteries anyway, because EVs are cheaper and better than ICE. It's just a bonus that they'll help roll out renewables too.
- Manuel_D 4y agoEstimates are not the same thing as real production figures. People estimated we'd have 10Ghz single threaded cpu performance by now back in the 90s. Batteries are already approaching supply shortages for input materials: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/shortages-flagged-ev-materials-lithium-cobalt-2021-07-01/ https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/shortages-flagged-ev... And as you correctly point out, most of these batteries are going to go to EVs rather than grid storage.
- ZeroGravitas 4y agoYes, no-one can predict the future, maybe we'll all be riding horses. But if, as basically everyone acklowledges, we'll all be driving EVs, then we will charge them from the grid. So they'll be better than grid storage, they'll be responsive demand (with grid storage you need to send the electricity back to the grid, which incurs another efficiency loss).
- Manuel_D 4y agoSure, if we have all our electricity produced through non intermittent sources we don't need grid storage. EVs charge from the grid and drive around just fine. Nobody doubts that. But if we are going to predominantly use intermittent energy sources we'd need massive amounts of grid storage. Delivering this through batteries is not feasible. We need to conserve battery supply for things that cannot be directly powered from the grid, like vehicles. It's too precious to be squandered on grid storage
- ncmncm 4y agoGrid storage cost is falling even faster than renewables cost. Which you already knew.
- Manuel_D 4y agoThe costs are falling on white papers, not in actual storage projects. Unfortunately, we can't hook a white paper up to the grid :(
- ncmncm 4y agoYou may pretend all you like, but I will always correct you.
- Manuel_D 4y agoCorrect me how? By insisting that storage is a trivial problem to solve, yet neglecting to actually share what your supposed solution is? By insisting that storage costs are falling yet neglecting to specify the cost and for what technology? By all means "correct" me all you like.
- ncmncm 4y agoOther readers only need to know that you habitually promote falsehoods.