The fundamentals are the same: Tesla built batteries for the power plant that is 20 megawatts situated in Ontario, California. The project, which is in response to the problems of supplementary gas-powered power stations, allows Southern California Edison to store and release power throughout the day, which will help balance the system and make the system more effective. The power held during the daylight hours (when wind and sun are at their maximum) is released during the evening hours when the energy is needed most (and the most expensive).
The project was completed within three months, just a year following a rupture at Southern California Edison’s Aliso Canyon gas storage facility that released 1.6 million lbs of methane into the atmosphere. The plant was shut down and shut down; it was the Mira Loma district lost one of its primary sources of energy during peak hours, and the “peaker plants,” which operate when the demand is at its peak, were no longer connected for the fuel they required to function.
Comprised 386 of Tesla’s 2nd-generation Powerpack batteries. The storage facility will charge with energy when it’s affordable and easily accessible and release it when the demand is high, thereby replacing the plants used to generate peak energy. The facility, owned through Southern California Edison, operates faster and less expensive than initially thought. But, beyond that, what does this impact Californians and the energy industry shortly? Here are five concerns we still need to answer, as well as the answers we received from Tesla, The California Public Utilities Commission, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
What size are we discussing? What percentage of California’s needs is it covering?
Tiny. However, what it covers is crucial.
Power plants are typically defined by the number of houses they provide power to. This is a rough estimate in the best case but less relevant. According to Tesla, rather than declaring it can run 25,000 homes (an incorrect gauge of power supply in the first place), It’s better to say that it can power 15,000 homes for 4 hours since that’s how it is used. Regarding raw figures, 20 MW represents 1/3000th of California’s energy requirements, approximately 60 milliwatts.
Although it’s the largest battery storage plant on Earth, it could be more significant for Tesla. It is comparable with the time it takes to create 1,000 electric cars or approximately three to four production days.
“By itself this plant is tiny. It’s more about what it does in terms of removing the local constraints that are real,” says Paul Denholm, an analyst in the senior division of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. “If you’re in that particular pocket of area that can’t get electricity, it doesn’t matter if it’s 50 MW or 1,000 MW, it’s my 3 kilowatts of demand in my house that matter.”
Making sure that demand and supply are equalized, like peaker plants, will create an even grid. The possibility to purchase and sell energy through wholesale markets can add the same benefits.
“The value of a battery storage is not … generation, it’s that it actually provides load shifting,” says Michael Picker, president of the California Public Utilities Commission. “It takes existing generation and moves it around in time, and to some extent in place.”
What will the expected impact be for consumers?
If everything is well, people will not even be aware of it. “They’ll be blissfully able to turn their lights on at night after solar goes down and be able to see the TV or whatever it is they’re cooking,” Says Picker.
Another possible outcome, according to Picker, the analyst, is a rise in the need for “behind the meter,” or home Powerpacks. Solar companies have begun selling to homeowners through power purchase agreements that allow consumers to recoup their investments. As prices for batteries continue to fall and battery makers become more efficient, they are likely to be able to offer similar deals and possibly even join with solar companies to provide better packages.
Could this be the breakthrough that makes the widespread use of renewable energy feasible?
Solar and wind power is at its peak in the day and evening. However, they’re an insignificant portion of total power generation in the US–around 6 percent, as per Denholm – that there’s not enough need to store it.
“When a wind turbine blows or a solar plant generates electricity, it goes onto the grid and it gets consumed,” the scientist declares. “It’s only in the future when we get a lot more electricity on the grid that we will need these enabling technologies to store renewable energy and shift it to a later time.”
The battery bank can allow the power utility to run it to ensure the supply meets the need. However, this means more than storing solar power for evening use. It also involves running conventional power plants, like those powered by natural gas, during times that aren’t peak, such as in the daytime and at night.
However, the renewable energy market is expanding, and battery storage is expected to become essential for generating power for communities even when there isn’t any sun or wind.
“We are beyond the point where renewables are the challenge in terms of meeting our electrical needs,” Says Picker. “You could remove the subsidies off and you could also take the mandates out, but we’d still be able to get over 50% renewable energy in California simply because it’s the most affordable cost. The question is how do you put all of that into an actual system that meets the needs of customers and ensures security?”
Where do we see it being used shortly?
Since the size and the area are small, this kind of facility can fill what needs must be met. However, these batteries can provide plenty of power in the required space. The Ontario facility is just under one acre, much smaller than the traditional peaker plant.
“The big thing is identifying places where there are pockets of load growth in places where there’s just not enough transmission,” Denholm says. Denholm. It’s usually in geographically limited regions due to population centers, landscapes, or environmental regulations. An area such as Ontario that doesn’t have many connections to the electric grid is a great illustration. “Where those conditions exist, storage will become increasingly competitive.”
Furthermore, the project was built and completed in only three months. That’s an astonishingly rapid timeframe that could provide a fast reaction to power issues instead of making a peaker plant, which can take a long time.
Therefore, the increase in quantity and size of these facilities could benefit power companies even if there’s no state-mandated energy storage requirement like in California, according to Picker.
How long will it take before the batteries have to be replaced? What happens to the older ones?
The life span of batteries depends on how frequently it’s recharged and charged, and they won’t be cycled daily, claims Tesla. Instead, they’ll increase and lose power continuously, which means that the battery’s lifespan is still being determined.
But, the piles of batteries are composed of separate units that can be easily unplugged and plugged in, and it’s an easy task to get rid of one that’s at an end point in its usefulness. Tesla has a recycling plant in Reno, Nevada, Gigafactory, where the batteries are made and then returned to the factory for breaking down.