XPost: rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.sf.science   
   From: mzenier@eskimo.com   
      
   In article ,   
   Greg Goss   wrote:   
   >mzenier@eskimo.com (Mark Zenier) wrote:   
   >   
   >>If they get the number of charge-discharge cycles high enough, or the   
   >>electrolyte can be cheaply regenerated, it sound like a great thing to   
   >>stick out at the collection farm end of things, localized or centralized   
   >>at the sending end of the transmission line.  That would solve both   
   >>the "nobody wants our wind power at 2 AM" and undersized power lines   
   >>problems.  Not to mention the ability to stabilize the grid.   
   >   
   >Um, wouldn't you want the battery at the consumption end, then you can   
   >send the power through the smart grid when nobody else is drawing   
   >power.  I don't see how storage at the production end solves   
   >undersized transmission lines.   
      
   You might want both for different reasons.   
      
   With Solar and to a lesser extent wind, you have times when your   
   generating capacity will be less than the transmission line can take.   
   With a relatively small storage facility, say 12 hours or less, you   
   can pick up the slack during the idle time.   
      
   At the user end, it's a financial game where you're trying to avoid   
   the "stick it to them" rates from the generators that specialize   
   in cherry picking usurious rates during the peak demand times.  (If   
   you're in a system dumb enough to have power auctions).  If it works,   
   all those natural gas powered gas turbine plants are competing with   
   storage facilities that only charge (SWAG) 125-200% of the baseline   
   price.  Even now, a study was reported (in New Scientist) that the   
   renewable generators were capping the rates the peak demand exploiters   
   were able to get.   
      
      
   Mark Zenier  mzenier@eskimo.com   
   Googleproofaddress(account:mzenier provider:eskimo domain:com)   
      
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