3 ms·
> The simple question to ask yourself is why do battery installations always get quoted in units of power - GW - and not units of energy, GWH - which is what we
by cesarb 3y ago
> The simple question to ask yourself is why do battery installations always get quoted in units of power - GW - and not units of energy, GWH - which is what we actually use?
For the same reason gas power plants and hydroelectric power plants are quoted in MW units, and not on the size of their fuel tanks or reservoir volume (converted to MWh as appropriate): it's the most important number for balancing the grid. If you have 90 GW of power demand on the grid at a given moment, you need 90 GW of power generation on the grid at that same moment (simplifying a bit, since transmission constraints mean you also need some of that power generation to be at specific places).
- XorNot 3y agoThus answering the challenge: they're not storage. They're grid stabilization utilities. Because no one expects to run them for more then 30 minutes to an hour while they bring dispatchable generation online. Which means they're irrelevant to the idea of grid scale energy storage, because they don't meaningfully store anything.
- ViewTrick1002 3y agoLast year you said they couldn't even meet enough demand for the grid. Now it is 30 minutes to an hour. Next year it will be hours. How does it feel when the Overton windows moves while nuclear is stuck in the past? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window
- XorNot 3y agoBecause as we all know, the grid is supplied by exactly 1 powerplant, with one energy source, at all times. /s