May 06 2021
Thank you for the information. I realized that it is possible and perhaps even desirable to use the storage facilities of the PV fields for other roles as well. Do you know of a project that has already implemented this option?
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Question
Utilization of storage facilities installed in solar fields?
- Apr 20, 2021 4:11 pm GMT
In order to shift solar energy production to hours when there is no sun, large-scale storage facilities are installed and the solar field's output is doubled. What is the common use of these storage facilities during the winter when there is not enough sun to load the storage facilities? On the other hand, the efficiency of the main turbines goes up and down and is maintained precisely for the winter period. Is it not correct to use the idle storage facilities for the purpose of extending the operation of the turbines at night and reducing their operation at the peak of consumption? Is it right to use the storage facilities also as a reserve for stabilizing production?
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Dr. Amal Khashab
May 05 2021
Yes of course , since a power system operation is the art of demand-supply balancing , which has been conducted on hourly basis as unit commitment. An hourly supply can include conventional and renewable as well as storage power.
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May 05 2021
Eitan, contrary to popular belief, grid batteries are useless as a source of sustained power (all batteries in California combined would be capable of powering our state's grid for a period measured in seconds). Though many believe grid batteries next to wind and solar farms are being charged by exclusively renewable energy, they're there for appearance only. Charged primarily at night with electricity from gas plants, they're used the next day for brief periods to help stabilize irregular solar and wind generation. Consumers should know the truth about battery installations on the grid - they're not being used as many think they are.
Chart below is from recent day on CA grid.
About 2,500 MWh of battery charging between 8am and 3pm when electricity is cheap - plenty of solar.
Discharged in early evening - replacing NG generation during that time period - and also when storage owners can get more money.
The total generation on Apr 28th was 550,000 MWh so the 2,500 MWh of battery charging represented 0.45% of full day generation or about 6.5 minutes.
Really early days for Storage in CA - in fact these numbers will at least double by end of year.
"I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been" - Wayne Gretzky
Note: as Bob said there was also a little bit of charging between 10-11pm and there was a little bit of discharging between 6-7 am. There is normally a rise in prices for short period in early morning as demand rises with people waking and solar generation not yet ramped.
Anyone can cherry-pick data to support an ideological preference, and I see you were able to find a day last week that was particularly sunny. But maybe we should put the glorious contribution of CA grid batteries in context, and look at data from a random day - like today, for example.
The contribution of batteries is on the graph below, but the light orange line snaking around 0 on the y-axis is hard to make out. What's plain to see is the pathetically-insignificant contribution batteries make every day - compared to nuclear, to solar and wind combined, and to natural gas. Most importantly, at their peak they were briefly contributing less than one one-hundredth of demand, the turquoise line at the top.
Grid batteries are a feelgood, useless marketing toy to perpetuate the naive dream of a 100% renewable grid.
"...in fact these numbers will at least double by end of year."
Big deal! Multiply storage capacity tenfold or one hundredfold, and you still don't solve intermittency - what CNN's Fareed Zakariah calls the Achilles' Heel of solar and wind.
May 05 2021
Eitan, Yes I believe that we should use storage not only as an answer to the solar issue but also as a means of managing peak demand using power generated by other generating equipment.
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