Bloomberg
California to test whether big batteries can stop the summer stop
(Bloomberg) – As summer’s heat approaches, California’s plan to avoid a repeat of last year’s eclipses depends on a humble savior – the battery. Giant versions of the same technology that powers the smartphones and cars are plugged into the state’s electrical network, according to BloombergNEF, California will add more battery capacity this year than the whole of China. According to BloombergNEF, this will be the biggest test of whether batteries are reliable enough to maintain a network powered primarily by renewable energy. Last year, when the worst heat wave in a generation charged California’s power system and plunged millions into darkness in the first eclipse since the Enron crisis, many saw the state’s aggressive clean energy push and dependence on solar power given debt. If a heat wave strikes again this summer, the batteries will save the day. Their success or failure may even have implications for President Joe Biden’s ambitious plan to create a carbon-free electricity system by 2035 – which requires a large battery supply and the expansion of renewable energy systems across the country. According to the American Energy Storage Association, Biden’s long-awaited infrastructure plan, released this week, includes a tax credit for batteries on the scale. It is part of its larger effort not only to switch to renewable power, but to make the aging electrical network more reliable. “This is going to be the preview summer for batteries in California, and we want to make sure this initial chapter is as successful as possible,” said Elliot Mainzer, chief executive officer of the California Independent System Operator, which manages the network. in most of the state. By August, the state will have 1,700 megawatts of new battery capacity – enough to power 1.3 million homes and, in theory, prevent an emergency on last year’s scale. It will not be easy. According to a report by three state agencies, the state’s plan to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 should require 48.8 gigawatts of energy storage by 2045 – more than five times more than all the grid batteries currently operating worldwide. Other countries are also doubling their batteries, with China on course to increase capacity to 222 gigawatts by the mid-century from 1.4 gigawatts in 2019. According to BNEF, Australia has a pipeline of battery projects with just 11 gigawatts, which is more is like 11 gigawatts. .But batteries have two main limitations: time and cost. Most battery packs available now are designed to work for only four hours. While it’s a good fit for California, where electricity supplies can be cut off in the early summer evenings after solar power shuts down, the batteries would not have prevented the multi-day outage that paralyzed Texas in February. A battery can only last as long as it needs to recharge. ‘ If batteries last four hours, it will not really do the job, ‘said Kit Konolige, senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “It is still somewhat unproven by using batteries for a large part of the capacity.” Scale batteries are also more expensive than ‘peaker’ gas plants, which are usually used as a backup generator when demand is high. After the eclipse of last year, critics committed the state for exiting so much cheap, gas power under environmental regulations. Including construction and financing, according to BloombergNEF data, batteries cost about $ 125 per megawatt-hour compared to $ 109 for gas. Still, California views batteries as a way to replace the peak plants. Not only is it much faster to allow and build; batteries can generate revenue by having owners arbitrate power prices, charge when electricity is cheap and charge when it is expensive. They also offer other network services, such as stabilizing voltage during the day. A peaker runs for a few hours in the evening and then it shuts down, and that’s all it can do, ‘said Kiran Kumaraswamy, vice president of the market. applications to Fluence, a joint venture energy storage company of Siemens and AES Corp. “You need to be able to offer the best capacity, but also optimize the amount of money you can earn at other times.” if the price of lithium-ion cells falls, the roll-out is not always smooth. Sporadic fires hit batteries on the scale, especially in South Korea, one of the first countries to invest heavily in energy storage. But these incidents have become rare as electricity services and power companies have gained experience with the technology. “There’s enough deployment around the world and the history of the industry that they want to be comfortable with,” said Energy Consultant Mike Florio, a former member of the California Public Utilities Commission. “It seems like the performance was as expected, if not better.” But will batteries prevent blackouts? They have so far been recognized as helping to prevent disruptions elsewhere, particularly in Australia, where Tesla and French Neoen SA have built a 150-megawatt lithium-ion installation. This is a good forecast for California, where construction in combination with other measures should give the state enough of a cushion to prevent this summer, according to Konolige. Just in case, the state also delayed and tightened the planned closure of some gas plants. increased demand response programs that reduce power when needed by some customers in exchange for a lower rate or other compensation. Public officials – including Governor Gavin Newsom, who is facing a likely re-election – have a strong incentive not to be caught short two years in a row. “It would be an ugly situation to obstruct something similar to last summer,” Konolige said. “For me, it’s a strong indication that it’s probably not going to happen this year.” (Add details on Biden’s infrastructure plan the fourth paragraph at.) Visit us at bloomberg.com for more articles like this.Register now to stay ahead of the most trusted business news source. © 2021 Bloomberg LP