Britain’s grid battery storage record is maddening | The UK is great at building renewables but not the batteries needed to use green electricity effectively - eviltoast
  • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    $279 a year to read articles?!

    Anyways, I do t know why potential energy storage isn’t used more

    Use available energy to pump water up hill or into a tower, when you need the energy let it flow down thru a turbine. Then during the day or when it’s windy and there’s an energy surplus, pump it back up again

    It’s not perfect and not the best, but requires almost no rare earth minerals like traditional batteries

    • egonallanon@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      I mean in the UK that’s almost exclusively the form of grid scale energy storage takes, indeed one of the largest generating plants in the UK is a pumped hydro facility.

      As to why ti’s not deployed more it’s matters of location and cost often feature heavily.

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        indeed one of the largest generating plants in the UK is a pumped hydro facility.

        That’s awesome, thanks for letting me know

  • MrMakabar@slrpnk.net
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    2 months ago

    The answer is rather simple. Batteries only really make sense, when you have enough renewable overproduction to actually store. If not you just take turn off gas power plants instead.