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I'm wondering, in a world where we use LiPo batteries to store seasonal grid level power from renewables (i.e. overproduce from solar in summer and store til wi
by rich_sasha 4y ago
I'm wondering, in a world where we use LiPo batteries to store seasonal grid level power from renewables (i.e. overproduce from solar in summer and store til winter), how big will the battery facilities be? And how bad would the fire be as a result?
It's not immediately obvious to me that these will be hugely safer than nuclear plants. Especially since LiPo battery fires seem to be much more frequent than nuclear plant incidents.
- nottorp 4y ago> where we use LiPo batteries to store seasonal grid level power from renewables Can we build enough LiPo batteries to store energy at that scale? Not so sure.
- rich_sasha 4y agoYeah I'm not sure either but that's the usual comparison point.
- HPsquared 4y agoDepends on the facility design: whether it's possible for the whole place to go up at once, or if it's divided into sections that are isolated from each other. Even individual batteries and cells can be isolated from each other if there's enough space. Space and weight, and firefighting ability are much less of a constraint in these types of facilities than they are in an EV battery.
- rich_sasha 4y agoStill, there's some rate at which these things ignite, the main choice seems to be lots of small fires vs few large ones. Firefightability matters for sure but I'd guess is second order? What's the total expected number of LiPo fires per GW of base load, assuming intermittent renewables and grid storage?