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Japan Building Giant Battery Systems to Store Solar Power

posted by cmn32480 on Saturday June 27 2015, @04:56AM   Printer-friendly
from the that's-a-lot-of-double-a's dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Japanese companies are building some of the world's biggest battery systems to address one of solar power's biggest problems–its volatility.

Handling the surges in power when the sun shines and storing that energy for use when it is cloudy or dark is a major headache for solar power producers and the utilities they supply.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp and NGK Insulators Ltd. are assembling a 50,000 kilowatt battery system for Kyushu Electric Power Co to study ways to better accommodate solar power.

A slightly smaller, 40,000 kilowatt battery system is under construction in Minami Soma, north of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, for Tohoku Electric Power Co. to conduct similar research.

The government is financing both projects at a total cost of ¥31.7 billion ($257 million), a government official said.

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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by gnuman on Saturday June 27 2015, @04:14PM

    by gnuman (5013) on Saturday June 27 2015, @04:14PM (#202097)

    No, it's the most *efficient* way of storing energy. Pumping water up a hill can be 90% efficient, and conversion on way back is the same efficiency. The loses for storage are called evaporation.

    Pumped storage works.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped-storage_hydroelectricity [wikipedia.org]

    Typically, the round-trip energy efficiency of PSH varies in practice between 70% and 80%,[1][2][3][4] with some claiming up to 87%.[5] The main disadvantage of PHS is the specialist nature of the site required, needing both geographical height and water availability.

    And Japan has both, geology (unlike for example Germany) and an already developed hydroelectric system.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroelectricity_in_Japan [wikipedia.org]

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaichi_Dam [wikipedia.org] http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2010/ph240/sun1/

    which is 35-45%.

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  • (Score: 2) by gnuman on Saturday June 27 2015, @04:19PM

    by gnuman (5013) on Saturday June 27 2015, @04:19PM (#202099)

    Awesome, thanks you for eating my text soylent!

    Comment was that there is already pumped storage in Japan, including stuff owned by TEPCO like that Imaichi Dam

    As for efficiency of battery systems, it's not always good compared to pumped storage. Batteries get 50-85% efficiency for charge/dischage cycle.

    http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2010/ph240/sun1/ [stanford.edu]

    And finally, pumped storage doesn't wear out. Gravity remains no matter how much water you pump back and forth.