The batteries powering our future today, have come a long distance from pioneering alkaline chemistry. Although they still perform the same basic functions of storing electrical energy, and delivering it on demand. Batteries continue to provide sterling service in our flashlights and phones. But nowadays the big money is on bulk energy storage for utility grids.
Powering Our Electric Future With Batteries
In times gone by we were content to charge our batteries with electricity from coal power stations. But that was before we realized the damage that coal smoke was causing to our environment. Fortunately we now have a better solution, that takes renewable energy from the wind and sun.
But that’s not a perfect solution either. Nature takes us through cycles of daytime and night. At night, the sun does not shine, and the wind drops away. This means we need to conserve some renewable energy so we can use it after dark.
When we think about it, the batteries powering our future and keeping our lights on, are a giant step forward from coal power stations. Because coal furnaces take days to reach full operating temperature, whereas giant storage batteries can produce their energy instantly.
Renewable Energy Rolling Out in Batteries
We see big batteries powering our future rolling out across North America, Europe, China, India and the world beyond. These ‘battery farms’ are helping stabilize our grids, from local power district level through to major grids too.
Those batteries are replacing oil peaking stations, and managing demand surges as well. Batteries are not only more environmentally friendly. Batteries come on-line faster, and are becoming cheaper than fossil fuels.
But that’s not all. At local level consumers have increasing protection during power blackouts. At the individual level smart households are installing solar panels and batteries. If we wrote this post twenty years ago, some folk would have laughed us out of court, but not any longer …
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The Case for Renewable Energy Storage
