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> I'd love to have a locally owned and operated 'storage depot' where I could shove my excess power to the depot, I don't understand why the utility companies

> I'd love to have a locally owned and operated 'storage depot' where I could shove my excess power to the depot, I don't understand why the utility companies can't convert some of their regional substations to local grid level storage locations, to counter this trend. They have the scale to utilize larger scale banks of batteries, hire people to manage them, and even exploit more dangerous technologies (like the emerging molten salt batteries).

organsnyder 12y ago
Simple: Most established companies don't have the stomach for that kind of innovation. They've been delivering their product for basically the same way for over a century, and their shareholders don't see the upside to changing. Of course, that leaves them ripe for disruption, but the nature of local monopolies makes that somewhat less likely.
- abakker 12y ago
  Alternative Hypothesis: Large battery banks are uneconomical compared with existing generation mechanisms. Coal/Gas/Hydro are much more efficient and cheaper stores of energy than batteries. This is a major factor is not adopting solar much earlier. The cost of battery maintenance might benefit from some economies of scale, but even if it did, they'd still pass those costs on to the consumers.
  - organsnyder 12y ago
    Absolutely. But even when/if we get to cost parity, I doubt we'll see utilities scrambling to adopt the new ideas. What's frustrating is that many utilities are actively trying to preserve the status quo through legislative maneuvers.
    - abakker 12y ago
      Yeah, that kind of thing sucks. On the other hand, I think some utility providers are investigating alternative battery tech. Look into Vanadium flow batteries as one option. The problems with lead acid and Lithium are better handled by Liquid electrolyte batteries, which can scale better and seem to be much more stable in storage scenarios. The downside is that they can be huge, so they'll never be any good in cars, but might be great in warehouses.

organsnyder 12y ago

Simple: Most established companies don't have the stomach for that kind of innovation. They've been delivering their product for basically the same way for over a century, and their shareholders don't see the upside to changing. Of course, that leaves them ripe for disruption, but the nature of local monopolies makes that somewhat less likely.

abakker 12y ago
Alternative Hypothesis: Large battery banks are uneconomical compared with existing generation mechanisms. Coal/Gas/Hydro are much more efficient and cheaper stores of energy than batteries. This is a major factor is not adopting solar much earlier. The cost of battery maintenance might benefit from some economies of scale, but even if it did, they'd still pass those costs on to the consumers.
- organsnyder 12y ago
  Absolutely. But even when/if we get to cost parity, I doubt we'll see utilities scrambling to adopt the new ideas. What's frustrating is that many utilities are actively trying to preserve the status quo through legislative maneuvers.
  - abakker 12y ago
    Yeah, that kind of thing sucks. On the other hand, I think some utility providers are investigating alternative battery tech. Look into Vanadium flow batteries as one option. The problems with lead acid and Lithium are better handled by Liquid electrolyte batteries, which can scale better and seem to be much more stable in storage scenarios. The downside is that they can be huge, so they'll never be any good in cars, but might be great in warehouses.