Very big batteries are coming to a grid near you

Senior Global Correspondent

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<header><h1>Very big batteries are coming to a grid near you</h1><a href="" rel="author"></a><span class="title"></span><time rel="pubdate" datetime="2024-09-11T00:00:00-04:00">Sep 11</time></header><p>Large batteries are rapidly connecting to the power grid in the United States as costs fall and the need to store electricity soars, <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=63025&amp;utm_medium=email" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).</p><p>Through July of this year, grids in the U.S. added five gigawatts of battery capacity, 10 times the amount added in 2020 when installations began to gain momentum, the EIA said. The country has 20.7 gigawatts of battery capacity as of this summer.</p><p>California and Texas <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/07/climate/battery-electricity-solar-california-texas.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lead the country</a> in battery installations.</p><p>The batteries are critical to stabilizing power grids as wind and, particularly, solar energy provide a growing share of power generation. As winds blow stronger and weaker over the course of a day and the sun ducks in and out of clouds and disappears at night, power grids must adjust quickly to surges and drop-offs in the power coming from these variable renewable sources.</p><p>Large batteries, defined as capable of storing at least one megawatt of electricity, are adept at evening out the grid. Increasingly, they are also being used to soak up wind and solar power when it is available, then dispense it later — after dark, when electricity demand often picks up in homes after work as people switch on air conditioners and other appliances, or during longer <a href="https://www.pnnl.gov/news-media/energy-droughts-wind-and-solar-can-last-nearly-week-research-shows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wind droughts</a>.</p><p>The trend is expected to gain momentum. Currently, most power utilities use lithium-ion batteries, similar to the batteries in smartphones and electric vehicles. New battery chemistries using, for example, plentiful and cheap sodium and designed specifically to pair with large-scale utility renewable energy are coming onto the market.</p>
Very big batteries are coming to a grid near you

by  - 

September 11, 2024


Large batteries are rapidly connecting to the power grid in the United States as costs fall and the need to store electricity soars, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Through July of this year, grids in the U.S. added five gigawatts of battery capacity, 10 times the amount added in 2020 when installations began to gain momentum, the EIA said. The country has 20.7 gigawatts of battery capacity as of this summer.
California and Texas lead the country in battery installations.
The batteries are critical to stabilizing power grids as wind and, particularly, solar energy provide a growing share of power generation. As winds blow stronger and weaker over the course of a day and the sun ducks in and out of clouds and disappears at night, power grids must adjust quickly to surges and drop-offs in the power coming from these variable renewable sources.
Large batteries, defined as capable of storing at least one megawatt of electricity, are adept at evening out the grid. Increasingly, they are also being used to soak up wind and solar power when it is available, then dispense it later — after dark, when electricity demand often picks up in homes after work as people switch on air conditioners and other appliances, or during longer wind droughts.
The trend is expected to gain momentum. Currently, most power utilities use lithium-ion batteries, similar to the batteries in smartphones and electric vehicles. New battery chemistries using, for example, plentiful and cheap sodium and designed specifically to pair with large-scale utility renewable energy are coming onto the market.