Stronger Batteries Are Greener

Introduction by the Blog Author

For wind or solar to work, the energy has to be available on demand 24 hours a day, whether it is windy or calm, whether the sun is shining or not.  The keys to these green power sources are inexpensive equipment as well as a method for storing power – batteries.  The batteries available with current technology aren’t strong and cheap enough.  This is why, for example, electric cars aren’t selling (the range between recharging is only about 100 miles, so you need to leave the electric car home and rent a car to drive on a trip of any length). 

Researchers are working furiously and compertitively on trying to come up with better batteries, though:

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Wind turbines accounted for 45 percent of new U.S. power production last year, while solar made up 34 percent of fresh capacity worldwide. Storing this energy when the sun isn’t shining or a breeze isn’t blowing has remained an expensive hurdle. Battery believers say that’s changing. They’ve invested more than $5 billion in the past decade, racing to get technologies to market. They’re betting new batteries can hold enough clean energy to run a car, home, or campus; store power from wind or solar farms; and make dirty electricity grids greener by replacing generators and reducing the need for more fossil fuel plants. This market for storage capacity will increase almost 10-fold in three years to 2,400 megawatts, equal to six natural gas turbines, Navigant Consulting says.

 Much more about this needed technology at this link where MIT quotes a Bloomberg story:

 

http://mitei.mit.edu/news/5-billion-race-build-better-battery