Category Archives: Energy Storage

Intermittent wind, solar, and wave power can not replace fossil fuels and nuclear power electricity generation without energy storage

Battery Energy storage batteries (BESS) too complex to ever be commercial

Posted on November 5, 2024 by

Source: RWE connects its first utility-scale battery storage project to the California grid Preface.  In 2024 if all of the BESS battery storage time were added up, they could store 8 of the 8,760 hours of annual electricity generated in … Continue reading →

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The pillaging of Native American coal, water, uranium and more

Posted on May 24, 2024 by

Preface. This is a book review of: “Unreal City: Las Vegas, Black Mesa, and the Fate of the West” by Judith Nies.  This book is about how stealing the resources of native Americans lands was made legal, despite enormous Native … Continue reading →

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Biodiversity Loss, Coal, Energy Books, Energy Infrastructure, Global Warming, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Mass migrations, Peak Resources, Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS), U.S. Congress Energy Policy, Water Pollution | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The pillaging of Native American coal, water, uranium and more

Sodium Sulfur Batteries

Posted on October 11, 2023 by

Recent research progress in sodium ion batteries: (a) cathode, (b) anode, (c) electrolyte and (d) binder. Source: Hwang J (2017) Sodium-ion batteries: present and future. Chem. Soc. Review 46: 3529-3614  DOI: 10.1039/C6CS00776G Preface. If lithium were used for both EV … Continue reading →

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Hibernating freeze-thaw molten salt batteries for seasonal energy storage

Posted on November 25, 2022 by

Preface.  A 100% renewable grid can’t happen without long-term energy storage. Today that’s done with natural gas (with a little help from hydropower in the 10 states that have most of it). Meanwhile nuclear and coal chug along at a … Continue reading →

Posted in Battery - Utility Scale, CSP with thermal energy storage, Renewable Integration | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Hydrogen hopium: Storage

Posted on October 21, 2022 by

Source: Russel Rhodes (2011) Explosive Lessons in Hydrogen Safety. https://appel.nasa.gov/2011/02/02/explosive-lessons-in-hydrogen-safety/ Preface.  What is hopium? Irrational or unwarranted optimism. An addiction to false hopes. A metaphorical substance that causes people to believe in a false hope (H + opium). And Hopium … Continue reading →

Posted in CAES Compressed Air, Drought & Collapse, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Hopium, Hydrogen, Trucks | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Hydrogen hopium: Storage

Peak lithium makes transportation & electricity storage pointless

Posted on July 29, 2022 by

Preface.  The lithium batteries in cars need electricity to recharge, but the electric grid can’t stay up with just wind and solar, that’s why natural gas is the energy storage today. Nor do pumped hydro or compressed air energy storage … Continue reading →

Posted in Automobiles, Battery - Utility Scale, Electrification, Peak Lithium, Recycle, Recycling | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

World Peak Uranium Production

Posted on July 9, 2022 by

Preface.  The World Nuclear Association estimates 90 years are left.  Today  67,500 tonnes of uranium are consumed a year world-wide and production in 2020 was 47,731 tonnes (WNA 2021). Sounds a bit peakish, thank goodness for stockpiles and the infinite … Continue reading →

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Battery - Utility Scale, CAES Compressed Air, Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, Gen IV SMR reactors, Natural Gas Energy Storage, Nuclear Power Energy, Nuclear spent fuel fire, Nuclear War, Nuclear Waste, Peak Uranium, Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS) | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on World Peak Uranium Production

Dozens of reasons why solar power can’t replace fossil fuels

Posted on June 6, 2022 by

Preface. Last update 2024-6-3. All solar (and wind) do is add to the giant bonfire of burning fossil fuels — which still provide two-thirds of the power for the electric grid. Electricity is just a fraction of how we use … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, CSP with thermal energy storage, Photovoltaic Solar, Recycle, Recycling, Solar, Solar EROI, Subsidies | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Dozens of reasons why solar power can’t replace fossil fuels

Compressed air energy storage (CAES)

Posted on May 11, 2021 by

Preface. Besides pumped hydro storage (PHS), which provides 99% of energy storage today, CAES is the only other commercially proven energy storage technology that can provide large-scale (over 100 MW) energy storage. But there are just two CAES plants in … Continue reading →

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Utility scale energy storage doesn’t scale up: limits to minerals and geography

Posted on March 2, 2021 by

Preface. Natural gas is finite, but aside from (pumped) hydropower, natural gas is the main way wind and solar are balanced now. Therefore, a tremendous amount of energy storage will be needed in the future as natural gas declines. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Batteries, Battery - Utility Scale, CAES Compressed Air, Mining, Peak Critical Elements, Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS) | Tagged , , , , , , , | 18 Comments