Despite frequent headlines about planning disputes concerning renewable energy in the UK, green energy planning application success rates are generally high.
No you don't need 5 days worth of storage per windfarm - you just need enough to store the energy during the half hour or couple of hours of grid congestion or demand saturation - so that the electricity can meet demand at some other part of the same day
"There is no technical reason lithium batteries cannot be deployed with durations of several hours or longer. The two limiting issues are how low the cost of the batteries falls and how frequently will there be the demand for the services provided by longer-duration batteries."
There are however plenty of non-technical reasons, including the scarcity of lithium and the massive detrimental impact of mining on the environment.
We have been trying to find alternative solutions for longer duration batteries for over 100 years. It would be incredibly foolish to design a system based on technogical development that hasn't happened.
Once we have an environmentally friendly solution for storing large amounts of electricity, an electricity grid based on renewable may work. Until then, we should focus on existing, proven technology: nuclear.
batteries are increasingly using less lithium and other materials, and lithium recycling is increasing, which will be a considerable help to keep the industry within resource limits. There are also a lot of other battery technologies. There are enough lithium resources for a lot more batteries. Uranium mining and mining for fossil fuels also has environmental impacts anyway.
The scale of batteries you would need to support the grid are scales of magnitude greater than those already in use. It is deeply unserious to suggest there is anywhere near enough lithium to support a global renewable energy grid. Your lack of data tells me you haven't thought about this correctly which makes your articles propaganda rather than analysis.
This analysis makes no sense to me. You need to look at storage not only from the perspective of the power it can deliver (in Watts) but more importantly for how long, ie its capacity in Joules (or some equivalent like MWh). If we look at, say, a 1GW windfarm ( that’s 200 5MW turbines) to overcome its intermittency you need to add at least five days worth of storage; that’s 120GWh.
Battery build out is progressing fast but still only has a capacity of c4.5GW and 6GWh of energy production. We need 100's of GWh and even with the multi 100MW sites that are coming we will wont make 100GWh anytime soon.
Personally I would mandate at least a 2hr battery has to be built with every new solar installation that matches capacity as we need to maximise utilisation of the grid connections we have now not burden the DNO's with even more demand for grid connections.
I think that battery build-out is best done according to system needs, which means batteries being built where the grid and the market gives developers the best decisions. That is not necessarily done according to rigid rules about the size of co-located batteries. If incentives are needed, they should be system wide in order to get the best outcomes
I wondered what are the specific regulations holding things up?
Also, as Nickri implies, presumably it's straightforward to get permission & connection for a battery at an existing solar or wind farm? (or maybe not ... ideally it would require ability to take power from the grid not just supply it ...). Solar & especially wind farms might not be ideally placed for a battery, but would possibly be better than nothing?
No you don't need 5 days worth of storage per windfarm - you just need enough to store the energy during the half hour or couple of hours of grid congestion or demand saturation - so that the electricity can meet demand at some other part of the same day
"There is no technical reason lithium batteries cannot be deployed with durations of several hours or longer. The two limiting issues are how low the cost of the batteries falls and how frequently will there be the demand for the services provided by longer-duration batteries."
There are however plenty of non-technical reasons, including the scarcity of lithium and the massive detrimental impact of mining on the environment.
We have been trying to find alternative solutions for longer duration batteries for over 100 years. It would be incredibly foolish to design a system based on technogical development that hasn't happened.
Once we have an environmentally friendly solution for storing large amounts of electricity, an electricity grid based on renewable may work. Until then, we should focus on existing, proven technology: nuclear.
batteries are increasingly using less lithium and other materials, and lithium recycling is increasing, which will be a considerable help to keep the industry within resource limits. There are also a lot of other battery technologies. There are enough lithium resources for a lot more batteries. Uranium mining and mining for fossil fuels also has environmental impacts anyway.
The scale of batteries you would need to support the grid are scales of magnitude greater than those already in use. It is deeply unserious to suggest there is anywhere near enough lithium to support a global renewable energy grid. Your lack of data tells me you haven't thought about this correctly which makes your articles propaganda rather than analysis.
This analysis makes no sense to me. You need to look at storage not only from the perspective of the power it can deliver (in Watts) but more importantly for how long, ie its capacity in Joules (or some equivalent like MWh). If we look at, say, a 1GW windfarm ( that’s 200 5MW turbines) to overcome its intermittency you need to add at least five days worth of storage; that’s 120GWh.
Battery build out is progressing fast but still only has a capacity of c4.5GW and 6GWh of energy production. We need 100's of GWh and even with the multi 100MW sites that are coming we will wont make 100GWh anytime soon.
Personally I would mandate at least a 2hr battery has to be built with every new solar installation that matches capacity as we need to maximise utilisation of the grid connections we have now not burden the DNO's with even more demand for grid connections.
I think that battery build-out is best done according to system needs, which means batteries being built where the grid and the market gives developers the best decisions. That is not necessarily done according to rigid rules about the size of co-located batteries. If incentives are needed, they should be system wide in order to get the best outcomes
I wondered what are the specific regulations holding things up?
Also, as Nickri implies, presumably it's straightforward to get permission & connection for a battery at an existing solar or wind farm? (or maybe not ... ideally it would require ability to take power from the grid not just supply it ...). Solar & especially wind farms might not be ideally placed for a battery, but would possibly be better than nothing?
There are grid connection queues. However NESO have just started to implement plans to prioritise schemes that are ready to go