This is the first seriousdelivery of a major utility grade battery complex that I have seen. Obviously it will focus as an industry on thewind mill sector for a while. As I haverepeatedly posted, windmills in particular need to be linked to some form of efficientenergy storage. I am expecting excellentsolutions to arrive on the market, but these guys have the advantage of first delivery.
The grid needs two basictechnological fixes to make real economic sense, both of which are now inplace. Energy storage is an obvious one,the more efficient the better. The otherhas been practical super conducting cable and equipment which is now juststarting to come out of the factories.
Today if I am an utility, I cannow plan to operate a primary generator that is superconducting and 98%efficient in power production. I canship the power across the country in a superconducting cable with a similar lineloss, I can actually use it in an industrialpower application with a similar 98% efficiency. All this can be ordered today or rather shortly.
Conventional New
Over the Dam $100 $100
Power conversion $65 $98
Line transfer $35 $95
After dist. Loss $20 $50
However you do the calculations, thesenew technologies will at least double our supply of available energy andutility storage will plausibly redouble it again by optimizing distribution. Distribution efficiencies through the nextlevel of superconducting technology will surely grab most of the remainingwastage.
What I am saying is that over thenext decade we can look forward to increasing our power availability five foldwithout building any additional power output which is a stunning idea. On top of that .industrial users will be alsoconverting to superconducting motors and halving their power consumption justas fast.
So before we factor in the adventof the new Rossi Focardi heat engines to replace all heat based power plants, apower revolution is now fully under way.
BY TODD WOODY
15 APR 2011 4:55 PM
The Notrees wind farm.Photo: Duke Energy
http://www.grist.org/wind-power/2011-04-15-no-trees-big-battery-texas-to-install-worlds-largest-wind
They like to do things big in Texas
Duke Energy is not a Texas company, but it owns the aptly named Notreeswind farm in the Texas North Carolina power giant isteaming up with an Austin area startupcalled Xtreme Power toinstall a 36-megawatt battery at the 153-megawatt Notrees Windpower Projectnear Kermit , Texas
That's one big battery. Such technology is likely to become crucial aswind farms become ever larger but erratic suppliers of electricity to the grid.In wind-blown West Texas , the region's massiveturbine farms can generate more electricity than the grid can handle at sometimes while all but ceasing production at other times. That creates headachesfor grid operators, and the ability to store wind energy and release it whenneeded would help smooth out the ebbs and flows of the electricity stream.
"This system will store excess wind energy and discharge itwhenever demand for electricity is highest -- not just when wind turbine bladesare turning. In addition to increasing the supply of renewable energy duringperiods of peak demand," Duke said in a statement.
The federal government is obviously interested in the technology. TheDepartment of Energy has thrown in $22 million for the project, with Dukematching the grant with another $22 million.
Duke and Xtreme plan to plug in the battery by late 2012.
Xtreme Power's breakthrough Dynamic Power Resource™ (DPR™) is afully-integrated energy storage and digital power management solution. DPRs™consist of safe and efficient PowerCells™ combined with high performance powerelectronics and a configurable control system, with each component sized toaddress each customer’s individual power and energy needs. XP integrates allkey components into a large-scale, utility-ready system that operates with acustomer’s existing or planned infrastructure. From project definition throughsystem operation, customers benefit from having one point of contact.
Proven by rigorous testing in XP’s in-house 7.5 MW / 7 MWh testfacility and extensive field operational hours, the DPR™ is capable of so muchmore than just storing off-peak energy for on-peak use. Customers see the bestReturns on Investment when they can take advantage of multiple services, andtherefore multiple revenue streams.
Finally, DPRs™ are cost effective in today’s market, offering highefficiency and minimal operation & maintenance costs that lead to anattractive total cost of ownership.
Key Characteristics of Dynamic Power Resources™:
Fully integrated energy storage and digital power management system
One product for a number of applications, with or without gridconnection
Faster and more accurate than competing energy storage technologies
Modular approach that allows scaling without compromising reliability
Size flexibility with both power and energy components for individualproject needs
Able to supply and absorb both real and reactive power
Safe and environmentally superior to current alternatives
Round-trip efficiency approximately 90%, varying slightly byapplication
Competitive total cost of ownership
Power Cells
After more than two decades of R&D, XP's PowerCell™ raises the barfor electrical energy storage technology. The PowerCell™ is a 12 volt, 1 kWh,dry cell battery technology with a very innovative design. Metal alloy-coated,ballistic grade fibers are woven together to offer structural integrity, aswell as multiple pathways for ultra-low impedance current flow both in and outof the battery. Proprietary formulas of fundamental alloys, such as copper,lead and tellurium, are used to form bi-polar plates that provide a massivesurface area at the nano-scale for the chemical reaction to take place,resulting in an extremely low internal resistance.
Performance
The highly uniform characteristics of PowerCells™ allow thousands to beassembled in massive parallel and series matrices, ideally suited for use inlarge-scale utility applications that require tens of megawatts of power whilestill maintaining a manageable footprint. The PowerCell™'s low internalresistance results in high power retention (approximately 98% efficiency) andthe ability to rapidly charge and discharge large amounts of power.
PowerCell™ warranted life is based on its change in state of charge(SOC). Guaranteed cycle life is a log function of change in SOC andranges from over 500,000 cycles at 1% change in SOC to 1,000 cycles at 100%change in SOC.
Safe and Environmentally Friendly
Because PowerCells™ are a benign technology, they are non-hazmat rated whichmeans they can be transported using traditional methods, require no specialhandling or documentation, and do not have any special siting requirements.PowerCells™ are also highly recyclable, and XP ensures that PowerCells™ areproperly recycled at the end of their life. Unlike most competitive energystorage technologies, PowerCells™ maintain a near ambient temperature whilebeing exercised, which eliminates many of the risks associated with otherbattery technologies.
Key Characteristics of PowerCells™:
Energy like a battery; Power like a capacitor
Low internal resistance provides high instant power capability, highefficiency, and operation at ambient temperature
Performs thousands to millions of cycles over a broad range of changesin SOC
Non-Hazmat rated and no special permitting required
98% of materials recovered and recycled
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