sbiJun 4, 2023
In spring 2022, after having been in one too many discussions about batteries, energy storage, and renewable share in energy grids, I decided to write a Twitter 🧵 on the subject, trying to collect what I have learned in the decade before that. I think it's high time I transferred this to mastodon, as long as I still can at least read Twitter.
Also, there are a few things I wanted to improve on that thread, so this is my chance.
Show threadsbiJun 4, 2023
The TL;DR:
i) Due the need to do primary control (frequency response), a 100% renewable grid is impossible. You need either combustion engines or batteries to run your grid.
ii) Batteries are not great for storing significant amounts of energy, but they are very well suited for frequency response.
Show threadMarcos DioneNov 19, 2023
@sbi excellent thread, very eye opening. what about physical energy storage, like pumped hydro, gravity batteries or spinning flyweels?
Show threadsbi
@mdione The first two are about tertiary control, flywheels are about primary control. So far, I have not yet come into contact with any of those.
The main objective of this thread was to explain that batteries, while problematic for large-scale storage due to their low energy density, still play a key role in the transition to renewables because they can replace fossil fuel generators for primary control, and that they can do this *now*, and at a profit.
Nov 19, 2023 at 5:21pmWeb
Show threadMarcos DioneNov 19, 2023
@sbi right, thanks for the clarification. it just seemed that the focus on fossil fuel was deliberately leaving out other alternatives.
Show threadsbiNov 23, 2023
@mdione After a few days of thinking about this: You are correct, of course, I focused on fossil fuel generators, PV, and batteries, and left out lots of other alternatives.
Part of this was that I wanted to keep it simple, and wanted to get my point across.
Another part, however, is that I simply do not know much about those alternatives, and I do not like talking about stuff that I do not feel well-informed about.