+- +-

+-User

Welcome, Guest.
Please login or register.
 
 
 

Login with your social network

Forgot your password?

+-Stats ezBlock

Members
Total Members: 48
Latest: watcher
New This Month: 0
New This Week: 0
New Today: 0
Stats
Total Posts: 16867
Total Topics: 271
Most Online Today: 42
Most Online Ever: 1155
(April 20, 2021, 12:50:06 pm)
Users Online
Members: 0
Guests: 33
Total: 33

Author Topic: Batteries  (Read 16564 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Batteries
« Reply #30 on: July 12, 2015, 04:18:01 pm »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Batteries
« Reply #31 on: July 17, 2015, 07:04:41 pm »


Quote
www.victronenergy.com
Why lithium-iron phosphate?

Lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4 or LFP) is the safest of the mainstream li-ion battery types. The nominal voltage of a LFP cell is 3,2V (lead-acid: 2V/cell). A 12,8V LFP battery therefore consists of 4 cells connected in series; and a 25,6V battery consists of 8 cells connected in series.

Rugged

A lead-acid battery will fail prematurely due to sulfation if:

• If it operates in deficit mode during long periods of time (i. e. if the battery is rarely, or never at all,fully charged).

• If it is left partially charged or worse, fully discharged (yacht or mobile home during winter time).

A LFP battery does not need to be fully charged. Service life even slightly improves in case of partial charge instead of a full charge. This is a major advantage of LFP compared to lead-acid. Other advantages are the wide operating temperature range, excellent cycling performance, low internal resistance and high efficiency (see below). LFP is therefore the chemistry of choice for very demanding applications.
Efficient In several applications (especially off-grid solar and/or wind), energy efficiency can be of crucial importance.

The round trip energy efficiency (discharge from 100% to 0% and back to 100% charged) of the average leadacid battery is 80%.

The round trip energy efficiency of a LFP battery is 92%.

The charge process of lead-acid batteries becomes particularly inefficient when the 80% state of charge has been reached, resulting in efficiencies of 50% or even less in solar systems where several days of reserve energy is required (battery operating in 70% to 100% charged state).

In contrast, a LFP battery will still achieve 90% efficiency under shallow discharge conditions.
Size and weight Saves up to 70% in space
Saves up to 70% in weight

Expensive?

LFP batteries are expensive when compared to lead-acid. But in demanding applications, the high initial cost will be more than compensated by longer service life, superior reliability and excellent efficiency.

Endless flexibility

LFP batteries are easier to charge than lead-acid batteries. The charge voltage may vary from 14V to 16V (as long as no cell is subjected to more than 4,2V), and they do not need to be fully charged. Therefore several batteries can be connected in parallel and no damage will occur if some batteries are less charged than others.

With or without Battery Management System (BMS)?


Important facts:

1. A LFP cell will fail if the voltage over the cell falls to less than 2,5V (note: recovery by charging with a low current, less than 0,1C, is sometimes possible).

2. A LFP cell will fail if the voltage over the cell increases to more than 4,2V.
Lead-acid batteries will eventually also be damaged when discharged too deeply or overcharged, but not immediately. A lead-acid battery will recover from total discharge even after it has been left in discharged state during days or weeks (depending on battery type and brand).

3. The cells of a LFP battery do not auto-balance at the end of the charge cycle.
The cells in a battery are not 100% identical. Therefore, when cycled, some cells will be fully charged or discharged earlier than others. The differences will increase if the cells are not balanced/equalized from time to time.

In a lead-acid battery a small current will continue to flow even after one or more cells are fully charged (the main effect of this current is decomposition of water into hydrogen and oxygen). This current helps to fully charge other cells that are lagging behind, thus equalizing the charge state of all cells.

The current through a LFP cell however, when fully charged, is nearly zero
, and lagging cells will therefore not be fully charged. Over time the differences between cells may become some so extreme that, even though the overall battery voltage is within limits, some cells will fail due to over- or under-voltage. Cell balancing is therefore highly recommended.

In addition to cell balancing, a BMS will:

- Prevent cell under voltage by timely disconnecting the load.
- Prevent cell overvoltage by reducing charge current or stopping the charge process.
- Shut down the system in case of over temperature.

A BMS is therefore indispensable to prevent damage to large Li-ion battery banks.

http://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Datasheet-12,8-Volt-lithium-iron-phosphate-batteries-EN.pdf

http://www.victronenergy.com/batteries/Lithium-battery-12,8V

http://www.victronenergy.com/blog/2015/07/17/energy-positive-house-ecolek-wales-ltd-installs-victron-energy-equipment-in-solcer-house/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Batteries
« Reply #32 on: July 26, 2015, 06:06:45 pm »



DIY Lead-Acid to Lithium-Ion battery conversion

Rinoa Super-Genius   

Published on Sep 15, 2013

Quote
Well my favorite battery died on me, so i decided to refit it with old 18650 cells that i have laying around. and now i finally have a use for those old cells too. right now it's running at 8v and as i add more battery cells i'll cahnge the voltage to whatever works best. i plan on using a voltage step-up transformer with it to run whatever i need.

this Duralast battery was from my greatgrandparents 1981 Mercury Zephyr (witch i got and may convert to electric someday) and its one of the first batteries i really messed with when i was younger. so since it's helped me so much i'll help it back by refitting it with a more useful battery chemistry.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Batteries
« Reply #33 on: August 05, 2015, 08:17:40 pm »

How Lithium Batteries are made and where they mine Lithium in the USA
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Batteries
« Reply #34 on: October 08, 2015, 10:31:38 pm »
How Solar-plus-Battery Systems Insulate Customers from Rising Retail Electricity Prices   
Oct 5, 2015

David Labrador Writer / Editor



http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2015_10_05_how_solar_plus_battery_systems_insulate_customers_from_rising_retail_electricity_prices
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Batteries
« Reply #35 on: October 10, 2015, 07:32:32 pm »
Planning on using a diesel or gasoline powered generator to recharge your batteries in a collapse scenario is a really STUPID idea. See below for a common sense applications of mechanical leverage and advantage.

Young humans using mechanical leverage are RENEWABLE ENERGY back up generators

Here's an idea: 

Ride one of THESE inside a large wheel that generates electricity.



Now that's a REALLY cheap generator that DOES NOT use fossil fuel POISONS. When you are in a hole, you are supposed to stop DIGGING!

There will ALWAYS be energetic types (while they are young, of course  ;D) available to generate electricity after the collapse of civilization. That is, until the big homo sap die offs occur...  :P

But let's take this in chronological order, shall we? There are STILL over 7 billion of us around, and a HUGE chunk of that population is young and will soon work for food.

It's gonna be REAL HARD to find distillates after the collapse, comprende amigos? Please discard your irrationally optimistic views of back up fossil fuel generator help for you and yours. They are NOT going to work in a collapse for more than a few months.

When the common people, post collapse and well into the global warming caused vicious weather, FINALLY do the math on cause and effect from fossil fuels, you can expect a lynch mob to visit you if they get wind that you are STILL using fossil fuels...
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Batteries
« Reply #36 on: October 10, 2015, 09:18:11 pm »
Where can you observe one working? I'd like to see it.  Are there videos?

This is not running a generator, but Ferris wheels like this are turned by powerful internal combustion engines or electric motors in the USA. There is no way a person riding a bicycle generator could supply the energy needed to turn this Ferris wheel. consequently, you can assume that the power these humans are generating, if said Ferris wheel was turning a generator head, would be substantial. They are not world class athletes. They are probably very cheap labor. With heavy weights around the Ferris wheel and a race inside with people riding bicycles, the torque you could exert would be even more than is being produced in this video.

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Batteries
« Reply #37 on: October 13, 2015, 06:34:52 pm »

Motor Yacht Matsko: Quiet, inexpensive energy

SNIPPET:

Design brief: Quiet energy onboard with fuel savings

The aim of Matsko’s investment company (Fuego Ltd.) was to have an AC power supply on-board, without using a generator or shore supply. The project was assisted by the fact that Fuego had all the necessary skills to wire the installation. Based on this information SCHRACK TECHNIK were able to develop a solution and supply the system components. All of the new essential components were manufactured and supplied by Victron Energy.

Originally the vessel’s electricity was supplied by the on-board generators or shore supply. This resulted in the generators having to be used in quiet places in nature when anchored, as obviously no shore supply was available. This was particularly unwelcome at night when trying to enjoy a peaceful evening in some quiet hidden bay. Whilst no air conditioning was required throughout the evening and night, the generator was required to cover refrigerators and some lighting. Although electricity consumption was relatively small, there was always the irritation of the generator ‘muttering’ all night. Furthermore it is known that when a generator is operating in this way it is substantially under loaded, i.e. well below rated load, so unfortunately it is not running in a fuel efficient way.

Generator fuel consumption was around 4 l/h at idle, i.e. with a light load, and 6 l/h at full load. The idea was therefore to completely shut down the generator in the evening and the morning and use ‘quiet energy’ to power the refrigerator and lighting. Then if the vessel were to sail during the day, the main engines would run, with both generators working which you can then load for any additional battery charging.

This can achieve two objectives: when the generators are operating, they are working in the area of higher loads, so the better efficiency in terms of the number of litres of fuel with energy being produced more efficiently. Now any persons on-board can enjoy a peaceful sleep with ‘quiet energy’ being supplied for the night maintenance of the vessel, when at anchor. But it is also clear that by paying attention to the energy consumption at sea and when berthing in a marina connected to the shore supply, that instead of using the generators such an approach can reduce overall power consumption even further by using the silent low-cost shore energy to charge batteries, in order to be ready for sailing the following day.

All of these goals can be achieved by adding a suitable battery bank to store energy which can then be used later. This desire for tranquility on-board also decreases the overall operating costs of the system too.


 

http://www.victronenergy.com/blog/2015/10/13/motor-yacht-matsko-quiet-inexpensive-energy/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Batteries
« Reply #39 on: February 25, 2016, 04:03:49 pm »
Feb 24, 2016

Authors Margaret McCall Associate

Water Heaters: As Sexy as a Tesla?  ???

How grid-interactive water heaters are joining the battery revolution


Of all the new tech emerging on the energy landscape, water heaters seem an unlikely contender. Alongside battery players like Tesla, with its Model X and Powerwall, water heaters look like even more of a stretch. However, the growing industry consensus is that grid-interactive water heaters have serious potential. They just might be the unexpected battery in your basement.

Why the buzz about water heaters?

Water heaters and batteries have one fundamental feature in common: they both store energy, batteries as charge and water heaters as heat. This ability to store energy gives water heaters flexibility. For example, they can be heated at night when power is cheap without jeopardizing your ability to take a hot shower in the morning. 

Grid-interactive water heaters (GIWH) are electric water heaters that the grid operator or the local utility can control in real time (or the customer, automated software, or a third party could control them in response to granular retail price signals from the utility). This controllability makes a GIWH valuable for more than just hot showers. For example, in addition to heating water when power is cheap, it can also shut down during yearly system peaks, help integrate renewables, and provide services to the electric grid like frequency regulation. Optimizing water heaters like this can significantly reduce carbon emissions and, as explained below, create billions of dollars in value.

Better yet, this functionality is not dependent on future technology: any electric water heater with a tank—be it old-school electric resistance or newfangled heat pump—can become grid-interactive. Making modifications to an existing water heater to install a grid-connected communications device takes a couple of hours and could cost a few hundred dollars. However, building in grid-interactive capabilities at the factory only costs a few dollars and provides much more value to the grid and to the customer.

A high-value source of demand flexibility

In our 2015 report, The Economics of Demand Flexibility, RMI analyzed the potential of flexible loads to provide significant economic value to the grid, finding at least $13 billion per year from common residential loads like water heaters and air conditioners. We found that water heaters, especially, have the potential to be an easily-tapped and high-value source of this flexibility.

A new study by the Brattle Group provides an in-depth exploration of the economic benefits of GIWHs. The fact that the study was jointly commissioned by utilities, environmental advocates, and industry groups highlights the diversity of groups interested in the potential of GIWHs. Brattle analyzed the potential of multiple scenarios, calculating that up to $200 in net system benefits may be realized annually for every GIWH participant. Ultimately, the authors concluded that GIWHs are a resource with significant opportunity for reductions in both costs and emissions, and one whose operational viability is already being demonstrated in pilot projects around the country—an exciting endorsement for the mild-mannered water heater.

Full article:
http://blog.rmi.org/blog_2016_02_24_water_heaters_as_sexy_as_a_tesla

Agelbert COMMENT: Good article but here's the state electric rate board elephant in the demand flexibility room.

Most power companies use demand flexibility ONLY for their benefit and offer the customer no savings from lower rates at low demand times. I live in Vermont and that is the case with GMP (Green Mountain Power). A glance at their different rates gives blatant evidence that they continue to give lower rates to industries that actually DO contribute to higher peak loads! This volume pricing 20th century antiquated approach is wrongheaded in the light of our climate change and carbon footprint crisis. But they insist it is "good for the economy". Sure, if you ignore he externalized pollution costs!

Meanwhile, GMP is partnering with Tesla to sell us the Powerwall as a back up to power failure without offering us a NICKEL (i.e. a penny or so off the normal hourly rate of about 15 cents per Kwh) in lower rates savings if we use an installed Powerwall during off peak hours to run our water heater or wash clothes, etc.

This type of power company ONE WAY PROFITS street is precisely what you at RMI should address more often. As your article points out, it's in their best interests to give lower rates to non-corporate customers during off peak times because the power company can then avoid buying extra power that they aren't generating or budgeting for some added plant and equipment. But, in most places in the USA, Vermont being one of them, the stranglehold of power companies on the state rate setting boards guarantees that no variable rates for residential customers are available. This is 20th century 'greed is good' biosphere damage promoting stupidity that favors the burning of fossil fuels for peak loads. This is insane.

Please contact GMP and let them know that many customers (that WILL NOT buy that Powerwall if it's just a glorified backup generator to be used for a few hours a year) WOULD buy the Powerwall they are marketing if we were offered a penny or lower hourly rate discount from our rather high fixed rate during off peak times. Better yet, contact Tesla. I'm sure they will get the appropriate message  to GMP, if you know what I mean.  ;)

GMP could provide flexible residential rates that if they wanted to. They are just too greedy to. As your article makes clear, that does not make economic or energy sense. I'm sure Elon Musk would agree.


Green Mountain Power of Vermont Rates:

RESIDENTIAL = 14.852 cents per kwh
(that's straight off my most recent power bill WITHOUT the added charges)

INDUSTRIAL   =   9.88   cents per kwh     


Green Mountain Power rates paraded as  slightly lower than the other area rates in a New England Comparison Rate Chart

There is no excuse for these power companies to not provide flexible rates to residential customers or to provide the ridiculously low rates to the industrial customers that significantly add to peak load demand.   
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Batteries
« Reply #40 on: February 26, 2016, 10:03:21 pm »
Enphase Energy Announces New Residential Storage Product 

February 25th, 2016 by Kyle Field

SNIPPET:

Enphase Energy has long been a key provider of microinverter and wiring solutions for residential solar photovoltaic (PV) installations and has built on that success with another important component of a holistic energy solution — storage. Before we dive into the company’s recently updated product, let’s talk a bit about the Enphase approach to “going green” at home and for the entire grid. That all starts with the Enphase Home Energy Solution (video).



Full story:


http://cleantechnica.com/2016/02/25/enphase-energy-announces-new-residential-storage-product/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Batteries
« Reply #41 on: April 20, 2016, 09:33:46 pm »
How to make a lithium battery for an electric bicycle 
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Lithium-Battery-for-an-Electric-Bicy/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Batteries
« Reply #42 on: May 03, 2016, 08:03:51 pm »
Researchers create incredible, everlasting battery

Megan Treacy (@mtreacy)
Technology / Gadgets
 May 2, 2016

SNIPPET:

A typical lithium-ion battery starts to deteriorate after a few thousand charge cycles because lithium deposits build up on the electrodes and cause the battery to lose the ability to hold a charge. For this new battery, the researchers used nanowires, which are highly conductive and have a large surface area, making them great at holding charge as electrodes.

Nanowire are very fragile though and the abuse of charge/discharge cycles breaks them down quickly. To prevent that, the researchers coated a gold nanowire in a manganese dioxide shell and encased the assembly in a Plexiglas-like gel electrolyte.

The gel coating was just an experiment, an afterthought, but when they tested it they found that the device was able to go through 200,000 cycles without any loss of capacity or any damage to the nanowire.  :o 


Quote
“That was crazy,” said Reginald Penner, chair of UCI’s chemistry department and researcher on the project, “because these things typically die in dramatic fashion after 5,000 or 6,000 or 7,000 cycles at most.”


The coated electrode was able to hold its shape better than one without a coating and the researchers think that the think the gel plasticizes the metal oxide in the battery giving it flexibility and preventing any fractures.

http://www.treehugger.com/gadgets/researchers-create-incredible-everlasting-battery.html


Agelbert NOTE:
I am CERTAIN the fossil fuel industry will do whatever it can to suppress this massive Renewable energy breakthrough because this technology means  ZERO storage limitations for EVs powered from Renewable Energy harvesting technologies like wind and solar AND ZERO NEED for gasoline powered vehicles.

Renewable energy=                                 =Fossil Fuelers
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Batteries
« Reply #43 on: May 03, 2016, 10:15:54 pm »
Quote
coated a gold nanowire

Sounds interesting AG.    ;)

                                                         

I was just about to PM you with a copy of this post. I figured this would be of interest to you.      

It is true that nano-wires do not require a lot of metal. So, the battery price should compete favorably with lithium ion, considering the vast charge cycle range. 

This technology, if not suppressed by the fossil fuel fascists  , will move GOLD up so high in DEMAND in the industrial sector (where the money manipulators CANNOT GAME the price) that the intrinsic value of that precious metal will be BOOSTED mightily by it's industrial metal status, above and beyond electrical contacts and such.     

As you know, ALL industrial metals CAN be recycled indefinitely without new mining efforts. So, the use of gold nanowires to help provide battery storage for electric powered houses, cars ,ships, trains, trucks and aircraft to eliminate the need for ALL internal combustion powered vehicles permanently would certainly be sustainable as well as being cost effective.

Gold mining, hopefuly, will be done in a more sustainable way to keep up with demand. 


The fossil fuelers will sniff and say, "This Quantum jump in battery storage technology is not ready for prime time".

Yes it is! Battery technology like this can be scaled up in a couple of years BECAUSE the battery manufacturing infrastructure has already been pioneered with the lithium ion factories all over the world. The doped nano-wires, once any bugs in the assembly process are ironed out, can change our transportation picture in less than a decade!


This is BIG! This is HUGE! And, of course, people like you with a nice gold stash are going to do quite well. 



He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 36274
  • Location: Colchester, Vermont
    • Renwable Revolution
Re: Batteries
« Reply #44 on: May 19, 2016, 09:03:01 pm »
Storing The Sun’s Energy Just Got A Whole Lot Cheaper 


 by Joe Romm May 18, 2016 10:50 am


CREDIT: S&C Electric Company
Part of a game-changing 4.2 MW solar + storage system in Minster, Ohio. (picture at article link)

With prices dropping rapidly for both renewables and battery storage, the economics of decarbonizing the grid are changing faster than most policymakers, journalists, and others realize. So, as part of my ongoing series, “Almost Everything You Know About Climate Change Solutions Is Outdated,” I will highlight individual case studies of this real-time revolution.

My Monday post discussed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) report that in the first quarter, the U.S. grid added 18 megawatts of new natural gas generating capacity, but 1,291 MW of new renewables. But one of FERC’s “Electric Generation Highlights” for March deserves special attention as a leading indicator of the revolutionary new economics of solar plus storage:

Quote
Half Moon Ventures LLC’s 4.2 MW Minster Solar Project in Auglaise County, OH is online. This project includes an energy storage capacity.

The Minster “solar + storage system is the largest U.S. facility of its kind connected through a municipal utility,” according to S&C Electric Company, which built and integrated the storage system. It combines a 4.3-MW photovoltaic systems and a 7-MW/3-MWh storage management system that provides power conversion with lithium ion batteries.

Lithium Ion storage The lithium-ion-based storage system used in Minster. (picture at article link)
CREDIT: S&C Electric Company
 
How does a storage system based on lithium-ion batteries make economic sense? The answer is: in a few different ways, with a system called “revenue stacking.” It’s worth taking a slightly wonky look at how such a system can stack or combine multiple revenue sources, since this is a defining feature of the game-changing new economics of solar energy plus storage.

To get the scoop on the system, I spoke to S&C’s Director of Grid Solutions, Troy Miller, who described this as “one of the first, if not the first” energy storage system to allow so many different revenues sources. The company has also posted online the full case study.

Capturing the Multi-Faceted Value of Energy Storage 

First, this system lets Half Moon Venture sell into PJM’s market for frequency regulation. PJM is the regional transmission organization that coordinates wholesale electricity movement and maintains grid reliability for over 60 million customers in 13 Eastern and Midwestern states and the District of Columbia. Frequency regulation is “the injection and withdrawal of power on a second-by-second basis to maintain grid frequency at 60 Hz.”

To make this happen, “the battery system was sized for frequent charging and discharging cycles.” The control platform for the system was designed “to interface with PJM market interfacing software to enable the system to follow a signal from PJM.” The system analyzes both grid conditions and market pricing to determine how to optimize revenues by either dispatching to or absorbing electricity from the grid.

Second, the Village of Minster had a major power quality problem — “occasional low power factor,” which wastes energy and requires expensive equipment to fix. Minster had been planning to install $350,000 worth of capacitor banks dedicated to dealing with this issue. But S&C was able to design the storage system to “provide power-factor correction concurrent with frequency regulation services.” That saved Minster $350,000.

Third, the system will allow Minster to reduce peak mid-day demand charges. Utilities typically charge customers a fee whose size depends on the maximum power consumed during a day since, they argue, they have to maintain enough capacity to deal with the very biggest peak demand they might see — typically during a hot summer day.

For a large electricity user like Minster, “PJM looks at the five highest two-hour peak load periods across its entire territory” at the end of a given year. PJM then assesses the user a “Peak-Load Contribution” charge based on how big the peak is. In Minster’s case, it is some 11 megawatts. To save Minster money, S&C designed their energy storage system software “to predict when these peaks would occur” and, when they do, to “switch from providing frequency-regulation services to demand response services.” The system should be able to shave Minster’s peak demand some 2 MW.

Quote

The bottom line, according to Miller, is “Revenue stacking is one of the quickest ways to create a strong return on investment for energy storage systems.” He expects to see a lot more projects like these in the future.

I asked him how much the sharp drop in battery prices had opened the door to such projects. Miller explained that battery prices had come down by a factor of three in the last few years, which greatly “expands available opportunities that are currently in the money.” Lots of stuff that didn’t make economic sense now does;D

We already know there are a number of ways to greatly increase the penetration of renewable energy using existing hardware and software. What we are now witnessing is the dawn of a revolution that will enable lithium-ion batteries to play a larger and larger role in that increased penetration.

Renewables are more unstoppable than ever.


The only questions that remain now are

1) will we embrace the kind of aggressive deployment programs needed to avoid catastrophic global warming ???, and

2) will we nurture a domestic market that will maintain U.S. leadership in key job-creating low carbon technologies ???, or will we outsource more jobs to China and Europe.  :(

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/05/18/3778623/new-economics-solar-plus-battery-storage/
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

 

+-Recent Topics

Future Earth by AGelbert
March 30, 2022, 12:39:42 pm

Key Historical Events ...THAT YOU MAY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF by AGelbert
March 29, 2022, 08:20:56 pm

The Big Picture of Renewable Energy Growth by AGelbert
March 28, 2022, 01:12:42 pm

Electric Vehicles by AGelbert
March 27, 2022, 02:27:28 pm

Heat Pumps by AGelbert
March 26, 2022, 03:54:43 pm

Defending Wildlife by AGelbert
March 25, 2022, 02:04:23 pm

The Koch Brothers Exposed! by AGelbert
March 25, 2022, 01:26:11 pm

Corruption in Government by AGelbert
March 25, 2022, 12:46:08 pm

Books and Audio Books that may interest you 🧐 by AGelbert
March 24, 2022, 04:28:56 pm

COVID-19 🏴☠️ Pandemic by AGelbert
March 23, 2022, 12:14:36 pm