Energy Storage Needs to Think Bigger Than Batteries to Beat Fossil Fuels
Batteries won't be the answer for running renewable energy 24/7.
Travis Holum Oct 11, 2015
Wind and solar energy have been gaining ground on fossil fuel competitors like coal and natural gas for a few years now, and in 2014 more new renewable energy capacity was built than all fossil fuel plants combined. But the renewable energy industry is starting to run into some headwinds that could last for years if it doesn't innovate fast enough.
In locations where renewable energy makes financial sense, like sunny southern California or the windy Texas plains, renewable energy has brought on so much supply that the grid can't handle it. The fear is that when the sun goes down or the wind stops blowing it will put a huge stress on the grid, the kind of stress that will be costly to overcome...
Energy storage on a massive scale
Batteries are a great energy storage medium for seconds, minutes, or even a few hours of storage, and those are necessary technologies for keeping the grid running. But for wind or solar energy to play a major role in the grid, the industry needs to find a way to save energy for days, weeks, and months at a time. Maybe hydrogen is the answer to this problem?
There are options out there, like a wind-to-hydrogen project that I thought could show a path forward for turning renewable energy into a usable fuel and an energy we could use year-round. And the answer to the problem might be easier than we think...snip
MORE: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/10/11/energy-storage-needs-to-think-bigger-than-batterie.aspx
http://insideevs.com/car-drivers-instrumented-test-2016-toyota-mirai/
