Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

Martyn1981

NedS said:

michaels said:

Hmm - 78GW - peak UK demand is what - 45GW?  Does that big a pipeline in that configuration make sense?

But it's an average 2h duration, so would only last around 3.5h at peak demand. In that context it doesn't seem so excessive to me.

Yep, and distributed around the UK, so it's not all going to be best placed for supply or demand at any given time, especially if RE generation is peaking in one place, v's another. Could also be worth paying that bit extra for higher power/shorter discharge, even if you don't need it, just in case. For example, the 2hr/2MW Tesla Megapack costs about $65k / 6.5% more than the 4hr/1MW version. That seems to me, to be both significant if not needed, but also maybe not too much more to pay just for the odd chance you need more power.

And, it's a pipeline, doesn't mean it's all going to be built, though I do expect the total to keep growing over time, maybe we'll start to see the energy side growing faster than the power side now, as storage starts to look at longer time periods.

Coastalwatch

With the weather patterns that exist here in the UK it's going to take a huge effort to arrive at a situation where we have too much storage in what ever form it may take. With battery prices still falling and the critical need for as much LDES as can be made available then possibly they could help bridge the gap. While Hydro, be it pumped or otherwise has proved itself over the last century they are a long term investment, circa five years plus and require a guaranteed income upon completion to make them viable without tipping the scales of balance too far so they take the appetite away from battery installs. Something as yet to still be established while the clock is relentlessly ticking on with CO2 levels rising at seemingly increasing rates.