Energy Vault

[ny_quant]

Как известно, главный недостаток "зеленой" энергии состоит в её непостоянстве. Солнце то светит то не светит, и ветер дует не всегда. Поэтому нам не обойтись без ядерной и/или ископаемой энергии. Если только не придумать способ запасать зеленую энергию в больших количествах. Литиевые батареи слишком дороги, да и лития на всю планету не напасешься. Очень хороши wind-pumped-hydro systems, но их далеко не везде можно построить. Индустриальные солнечные генераторы могут использовать расплавленную соль как резервуар тепла, но такие штуки тоже далеко не везде построишь.

И вот швейцарскав фирма Energy Vault придумала запасать энергию в виде потенциальной энергии кирпичей, которые кран поднимает на некую высоту. Когда нужна энергия, кирпичи спускаются вниз и переводят свою потенциальную энергию в электрическую. Просто как всё гениальное. Такие башни можно строить практически где угодно где люди согласятся жить по соседству с уродливым подъёмным краном высотой в 150м. На сайте Energy Vault есть фото их демо проекта и отличное видео с более подробными пояснениями.

Оказывается ещё в 2019 году SoftBank invested $110 million dollars in Energy Vault.

The bricks themselves are modular, and can be manipulated individually, with multiple cranes and pulleys moving numerous blocks at the same time. As a consequence, the Energy Vault system can ramp quickly and deliver (or absorb) large amounts of capacity and longer-term energy, depending on the need. The system is remarkably fast: According to Piconi, it can ramp from zero to 4 MW in 2.9 seconds, and is nearly linear in its delivery profile, providing milli-second response, and the delivering the first 1.3 MW in one second. The standard 35 MWh system is also relatively large, combining a tower of 150 to 160 meters with 6,000 to 7,000 bricks that each weighing 35 metric tons.

Comments

[bad-cmpany.livejournal.com]

"8Kw system. It saves $200-300 per month"

That is a ton of money. How much does the utility pay you per KWh returned to the grid?
Obviously net is negative for the utility. It pays you.

[misha-b.livejournal.com]

If you have net metering it essentially pays you the same amount it charges you, which is a lot here. Beyond that it pays very little, almost nothing, so you cannot really make money by installing a larger system than what you need.

[ny-quant.livejournal.com]

fuckery

[bad-cmpany.livejournal.com]

Ok, no KWh price. Anyway, even if the utility does not pay you and instead you pay utility some fractional amount- utility is forced to maintain the grid, arrange all these electricity flows and do it all for free. But it is not a subsidy to solar, no sir. I still suspect that someone pays for it. Just a suspicion, because nothing is free.
I have nothing against the homeowners installing it, I think I will install solar eventually, just saying that it enjoys all kinds of support that are not necessary accounted for.

[misha-b.livejournal.com]

Kwh price for what? The utility charges us between 20 and 50 cents per Kwh, depending on the plan, time of day, etc. I think there is some base monthly fee that you have to pay for grid but it is small, not sure exactly how much.

Right now we barely need the grid at all, we can survive indefinitely without it (although if it rains for a week, it would become difficult). I think it is true that if everyone installs solar + battery the utility will be losing money. They will probably need a different residential business model in the future -- essentially providing power backup for households.

[bad-cmpany.livejournal.com]

There is no way it can survive as a power backup. It will work as reliably as Texas grid did in winter freeze two weeks ago.

[misha-b.livejournal.com]

I don't see why not. They will still have their business customers in any case.