Customer demand on an electricity supply grid fluctuates according to the day, and the time. Grid central control ideally aims to match this requirement with an adequate supply, although the volts may vary within tolerance. But if the light bulbs dim or brighten beyond an acceptable level, then load balancing the utility grid is indicated.
How to Go About Balancing the Utility Grid
Most small towns had their own coal or hydroelectric power station in decades past, and made the best of it. But when the good times came the residents may have added another coal generating unit, or perhaps even a natural gas peaking generator.
But those solutions were far from perfect, because building a coal generating unit, or a natural gas plant takes a while to complete. And, if the local industries decide to relocate they might not need the additional plant. However, a much better idea was on the horizon in the form of portable batteries.
Mind you, this was far from the case of some whizz-kid imagining load balancing a utility grid with a pile of batteries. Utilities needed an intermediate step in the form of wind and solar farms. They ran the renewable electricity through batteries to stabilize the energy, so they could feed it directly into their distribution grid.
Since then, we have watched huge storage batteries becoming peaking power stations. Their capacity is growing in leaps and bounds, and they don’t add to our carbon footprint either while they are delivering. Do you think this opinion is far-fetched … perhaps not?
More Information
How Do Electro-Chemical Batteries Work
Maintaining Grid-Stability with Batteries
Preview Image: Bhadla Solar Battery Park (Google Earth)
