Posts Tagged ‘battery’

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Energy storage for electric power systems

February 26, 2010

Michael Giberson

Sandia National Lab has just published a study of energy storage applications for the electric grid: “Energy Storage for the Electricity Grid: Benefits and Market Potential Assessment Guide.” John Petersen at Alt Energy Stocks said:

I’ve been following the work in progress on this report since last summer and have eagerly awaited the opportunity to shift my focus away from the overhyped electric vehicle sector and focus on something with real meat. It looks like my time has finally come. For technology types that want a detailed understanding of what the various potential utility-scale applications for energy storage are, the entire 232 page report is a must read.

Petersen then provides an overview of the report’s information from the point of view of a potential investor.

Posted in Electricity, Energy markets, Technology | Tagged , | Comments Off

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EVs need to avoid charging during peak hours? Nonsense!

February 17, 2010

Michael Giberson

From time to time you see reports of electric utility executives or analysts worried about a forthcoming avalanche of electric vehicles (EVs) that will, just maybe, overwhelm utility distribution systems. What happens if everyone comes home from work and plugs in at the same time?  What happens if drivers want to recharge on-peak rather than off-peak?  I’m omitting links because I’m reacting to the general attitude and not a specific analysis, but a recent sample comment was the stern declaration: “EVs need to avoid charging during peak hours.”

Nonsense.

When car batteries become sufficiently advanced that lots of people actually buy and drive an electric car, then electric-utility scale batteries will also be more advanced.  It is, or at least can be, the same technology.  Utility applications actually have more choices, the batteries don’t have to be lightweight, so improvements in battery technology are likely to become widespread within the power industry before they become widespread in vehicle applications.

The supply side of the industry will readily handle the changes in load presented by growth of the electric vehicle market.

Posted in Electricity, Energy markets | Tagged , , | 2 Comments »

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“Battery Investing for Beginners”

October 8, 2009

Michael Giberson

John Petersen has written a four-part series of articles on “Battery Investing for Beginners” at AltEnergyStocks (and mirrored at SeekingAlpha).

Don’t miss Petersen’s “How PHEVs and EVs Will Sabotage America’s Drive for Energy Independence.”  I don’t care much one way or another about a “drive for energy independence”, but I love contrarian wisdom well-supported by facts and analysis.

Posted in Electricity | Tagged , | Comments Off

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Better Place has deal to provide taxis in Toyko

September 14, 2009

Michael Giberson

Japanese taxis represent a mere two percent of all passenger vehicles on the road in Japan, yet they emit approximately 20 percent of all carbon dioxide (CO2) from vehicles due to their average distance traveled in a given day.

From a news release by Better Place.  The company statement highlights the projects ability to showcase their technology in a place known for high-technology expertise in automotive and other fields.  Better Place, which Lynne has mentioned a time or two before, is pursuing an electric vehicle approach involving battery swapping to speed vehicle “refueling.”

(HT to Chris Davis, at Discovery News: PowrTalk, who notes that taxi fleets are an ideal testing ground for Better Place’s system.)

Posted in Electricity | Tagged , , | Comments Off

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Same old advice gets new package

August 2, 2009

Michael Giberson

My essay of advice to free-market windpower critics, originally published at Master Resource, has been re-published at AltEnergyStocks.

(But the really interesting new stuff at AltEnergyStocks is the immediately prior post on how lead-carbon battery developments will challenge lithium-ion designs for uses in which lithium-ion’s low weight is not a critical factor.  So do go re-read my essay, so the hits are high and Tom Konrad will consider publishing me again someday, but then click back a post and read John Petersen on battery technology.)

Posted in Electricity, Environmental policy | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

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Low entry barriers in electric car market

January 12, 2009

Lynne Kiesling

Very interesting story in today’s Wall Street Journal about BYD, a Chinese firm manufacturing electric vehicles. One of the most interesting points in this article: despite the global economic downturn, BYD is increasing its operations, first in China and then planned for US and Europe, because entry barriers are lower in the electric vehicle market than in the internal combustion vehicle market.

Mr. Wang’s strategy: capitalizing on the electric car’s low barriers to entry. Few products are as complex to develop and produce as gasoline-powered automobiles, which are assembled with thousands of precisely engineered parts. But electric cars use only basic motors and gearboxes, and have relatively few parts. Aside from perfecting the battery itself, they’re far easier and cheaper to build — and that makes for a level playing field.

“It’s almost hopeless for a latecomer like us to compete with GM and other established auto makers with a century of experience in gasoline engines,” said Mr. Wang in an interview, pacing and juggling calls in BYD’s headquarters on the outskirts of Shenzhen. “With electric vehicles, we’re all at the same starting line.”

BYD has other factors working to their advantage — low labor costs, innovations in battery technology — but the demand for electric vehicles is still not particularly large or particularly intense. The article also discusses the constraint that battery technology presents, and some of the innovations that BYD and others are doing to relax those constraints.

Posted in Economics, Electricity, Energy markets, Technology | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

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