Reply #29: .

[skids]

It is absurd to talk about a single battery that stores hundreds of gigawatts of power. You know full well that power storage is distributed throughout the network. Moreover, given current concerns about power outages and severe climate events, the trend is going to be towards local on-site storage, or at the very least regional.



http://www.beaconpower.com

What's pictured is an array of 6KWh flywheel units, two of which are being tested as we speak by regional ISOs in NY and CA. A single one of the 25KWh units is a tad bit larger than one of those 6KWh black objects shown. Buried in someone's back yard it would allow an average house to draw it's power from the grid, or on-site renewables, at optimum times of the day, and serve dual purpose as emergency backup.

Also not to be left out, though it's vaporware until I see it working someplace and quantity manufacturing viability is proved:

http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2006/01/eestor_ultracap.html

Geoexchange and ice-stored AC can do the same for heating and cooling.