Developers of grid-scale storage battery installations, have to negotiate their way through public opinion. Objections may range from construction noise, to ‘not in my back yard’, to fear of toxic fumes from battery fires. There are a good reasons why battery farms can’t just go anywhere. The location of suitable land is a factor in battery storage, which we share here.
Land for Battery Storage Versus Wind and Solar
Business consultants Hamilton Locke describe the administrative process of securing land for wind, solar, and battery farms. These routes are similar, although battery farms require far less space than the other two options. But land is a factor in battery storage siting in more ways than just the size of the site.
This is because battery farms occupy the land intensively, as opposed to wind and solar farms that can co-exist with agriculture. On the downside, this means battery farms intrude more intensely on existing land rights.
That said, the energy that battery farms send out is not location dependent. A battery puts out the same energy wherever it is, give or take extreme ambient temperatures. Whereas wind and solar farms require careful siting, to optimize the natural energy around them.
Choosing the Best Site for a Grid-Scale Storage Farm
There are inevitably load losses in transmission systems, owing to inherent resistance of conductors, transformers, and other equipment. The overall effect may be minimised by reducing transmission distance, and entering the grid at the optimum point:
- Connecting into the transmission system itself, enables a broad range of ancillary and transmission-related services. These systems can help replace or defer investments in peaking capacity, and provide operating reserves.
- Feeding into the distribution network near load centers, may provide all the services of transmission-sited storage. In addition to several other benefits related to congestion and power quality issues.
- Siting battery storage farms near variable renewable energy generators such as wind and solar, shares distribution costs and load losses.
These factors influence the location of scaleable energy storage systems. But they may be the only solution where power stations are impractical, for geographical or environmental reasons.
More Information
Energy Storage and the Future of Batteries
Lead-Acid Energy Storage Research
Preview Image: Large Battery Storage Project
