Pumped hydro: the economics?
…is not dissimilar from the economics of lithium ion batteries (recent notes here and here). Inputs to the data-file include an overview of past projects and technical papers, in order…
Nostromo: thermal energy storage breakthrough?
…easy-to-understand, focused and considers deployments. The technology is an exciting alternative and complement to lithium ion batteries for energy storage, or more specifically demand shifting. It may be particularly well-suited…
Fluorinated polymers: flying under the radar?
…and maybe secondarily silver. When you think about wind, you are primarily going to think about glass fiber, and maybe secondarily resins. When you think about batteries, you are primarily…
DC-DC power converters: efficiency calculations?
DC-DC power converters are used to alter the voltage in DC circuits, such as in wind turbines, solar MPPT, batteries and digital/computing devices. This data-file is a breakdown of DC-DC…
Demand shifting: electrical flexibility by industry?
…is an excellent solution. It may be easy. It may cost nothing. It may not incur any energy penalties. Unlike batteries and hydrogen. And we think that ultimately 20-30% of…
California electricity prices by hour?
…day? The data above entail that the maximum intra-day spread has recently been running at around 9c/kWh, which is lower than the 20c/kWh we think is needed for grid-scale batteries…
Renewable-heavy grids: dividing the pie?
…gensets, grid-scale batteries, redox flow batteries, hydrogen backstops, and more broadly in conventional energy and new energies. Please note that the most cost-effective way to access our research is via…
Electrochemistry: redox potential?
Batteries, electrolysers and cleaner metals/materials value chains all hinge on electrochemistry. Hence this 19-page overview of electrochemistry explains the energy economics from first principles. The physics are constructive for lithium…
Power grids: the biggest bottleneck in the world?
…rates (page 13), interconnection costs (page 14), interconnection timelines (page 15) and attempts to circumvent network costs by co-developing renewables plus batteries (page 16). The evidence in this note suggests…
Wind generation case study: minute by minute volatility?
…and inter-day volatility is 30-60% higher than for solar. 2-6 day feasts and famines are hard to backstop with batteries. Solar also cannibalizes wind? $499.00 – Purchase Checkout Added to cart Stockyard…