One of the biggest challenges of switching to clean energy sources is finding a place to store excess power. That’s relatively easy on a small scale , but it’s much more daunting for your utility company. Southern California Edison is apparently ready to take on that challenge, however. It just launched the Tehachapi Energy Storage Project , a large-scale experiment in using lithium-ion batteries (608, 832 of them, to be exact) to preserve unused electricity. For the next two years, the 32 megawatt-hours array will scoop up leftover energy from nearby sources, including a wind turbine area; SCE will be watching closely to see how the lithium-ion packs improve its grid’s real world performance. It could be a while before you see this sort of battery station elsewhere on SCE’s network, no matter how successful the test may be. The batteries are only supporting a substation in a small town. It would take a considerably larger effort to support a major city, and even China’s record-setting storage system tops out at 36 megawatt-hours. However, it’s still an important step toward bringing eco-friendly energy to many more people — eventually, you might not have to be picky about where you live (or use your own generators) in order to get all your power from renewable resources. Filed under: Misc Comments Source: Edison International
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California’s giant battery test is a step towards clean energy
