Shipping containers of Li-ion batteries in the power grid

Re:Shipping containers of Li-ion batteries in the power grid by chopsueyar on Friday January 07, 2011 @11:54AM (#2080067)

What about some sort of hydraulic "battery"? I have seen water pumps that can be used as generators and vice/versa, especially during offpeak periods, water is pumped uphill, and during peak demand, water is sent downhill to generate electricity.

Would a hydraulic turbine/pump/generator be feasible?

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Re:Shipping containers of Li-ion batteries in the power grid by asmithmd1 on Friday January 07, 2011 @02:15PM (#2080726)

Pump power storage facilities have been online for decades. They are often near nuclear facilities which can not easily throttle up and down:

http://www.nypa.gov/facilities/blengil.htm

I think your analogy to a battery is correct for these pump storage operations while a container of batteries is, by analogy, closer to a capacitor: able to deliver high pulses of current quickly but only for a very short time.

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Re:Shipping containers of Li-ion batteries in the power grid by cryptorchidism on Friday January 07, 2011 @12:01PM (#2080093)

Well yes, and that's what the system you mentioned does. In addition to pumped hydro, there are schemes for pumping air into underground caverns.

You need too much volume to make artificial tanks cost-effective. That's why natural formations are used.

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Re:Shipping containers of Li-ion batteries in the power grid by chopsueyar on Friday January 07, 2011 @12:26PM (#2080183)

That pneumatic system sounds interesting. Do you have any links, por favor?

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Re:Shipping containers of Li-ion batteries in the power grid by yrral on Friday January 07, 2011 @01:31PM (#2080503)

I don't think so, since the article states that the system needs to vary its output in 5 second intervals, the generators that use water will take too long to start spinning up to keep up with a sudden strong current draw.

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