Lithium batteries are not viable. The massive battery in South Australia, the largest one in the world, can run the grid for about 2 minutes.
Two minutes are are extremely useful - because in the real world you’re never going to need to run the entire grid off the battery, it’s just used when the solar/wind/hydro/etc aren’t quite providing enough power for a brief moment.
The second issue they have is they wear out. You can’t fully drain a battery every night and expect them to last. Batteries will always be a last resort.
What we’re heading towards is a diverse grid with a bunch of different energy sources. ABC is right, we need a “glue” power source to fill in the gaps. And we need one that lasts longer than a couple minutes.
Lithium batteries are not viable. The massive battery in South Australia, the largest one in the world, can run the grid for about 2 minutes.
Two minutes are are extremely useful - because in the real world you’re never going to need to run the entire grid off the battery, it’s just used when the solar/wind/hydro/etc aren’t quite providing enough power for a brief moment.
The second issue they have is they wear out. You can’t fully drain a battery every night and expect them to last. Batteries will always be a last resort.
What we’re heading towards is a diverse grid with a bunch of different energy sources. ABC is right, we need a “glue” power source to fill in the gaps. And we need one that lasts longer than a couple minutes.