Been an engineer in Energy since January 1989, when I took on an Engineering Cadetship for the then electricity Commission. Spent time in all facets, including my most recent stint, over now of running a power station.
Seems that the "transition" only wants to have current, and emerging technologies (keep hearing what's just around the corner will be "better" - but someone elses plan isn't a plan.
I'm an advocate for build what we can with now technologies, and skills that many many have. Pumped Hydro, but that's not popular, described locally as ancient and obsolete, like it hasn't had millenia of improvements.
This is another example of "emerging" technologies using gear that has been proven for a hundred years...
https://www.energy-storage.news/wor...torage-project-connects-to-the-grid-in-china/
A compressed air energy storage (CAES) project in Hubei, China, has come online, with 300MW/1,500MWh of capacity.
The 5-hour duration project, called Hubei Yingchang, was built in two years with a total investment of CNY1.95 billion (US$270 million) and uses abandoned salt mines in the Yingcheng area of Hubei, China’s sixth-most populous province.
$270M for 1,500MWh of storage is cheap as chips, and many many on this board would have the capacity to carry out serviceing on the machines.
70% round trip not great, but not awful, the Grid scale batteries lose more.
But again, using already proven since the air liquide process was invented...can run that up to 80%...and completely scalable as to capacity and storage...with nearly off the shelf components.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/rio-tin...-energy-storage-plant-with-eyes-on-australia/
We need common sense and innovation...e.g. compress air with negative prices, and decouple the compression and combustion porcesses of our peaking GTs....there's limitless scope, just we seem fixated on smexxy.
Seems that the "transition" only wants to have current, and emerging technologies (keep hearing what's just around the corner will be "better" - but someone elses plan isn't a plan.
I'm an advocate for build what we can with now technologies, and skills that many many have. Pumped Hydro, but that's not popular, described locally as ancient and obsolete, like it hasn't had millenia of improvements.
This is another example of "emerging" technologies using gear that has been proven for a hundred years...
https://www.energy-storage.news/wor...torage-project-connects-to-the-grid-in-china/
A compressed air energy storage (CAES) project in Hubei, China, has come online, with 300MW/1,500MWh of capacity.
The 5-hour duration project, called Hubei Yingchang, was built in two years with a total investment of CNY1.95 billion (US$270 million) and uses abandoned salt mines in the Yingcheng area of Hubei, China’s sixth-most populous province.
$270M for 1,500MWh of storage is cheap as chips, and many many on this board would have the capacity to carry out serviceing on the machines.
70% round trip not great, but not awful, the Grid scale batteries lose more.
But again, using already proven since the air liquide process was invented...can run that up to 80%...and completely scalable as to capacity and storage...with nearly off the shelf components.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/rio-tin...-energy-storage-plant-with-eyes-on-australia/
We need common sense and innovation...e.g. compress air with negative prices, and decouple the compression and combustion porcesses of our peaking GTs....there's limitless scope, just we seem fixated on smexxy.