It Is Surprisingly Hard to Store Energy

It Is Surprisingly Hard to Store Energy

Melinda and I just released our 2016 Annual Letter, in which we discussed two superpowers we wish we had. Melinda wished for more time. I wished for more energy – specifically, cheap, clean energy to help the world’s poorest families without contributing to climate change. Part of the solution is to invest more in clean-energy research. But we also need new inventions that improve our ability to store energy cheaply and efficiently.

I have learned a lot about energy storage by investing in companies that are making batteries better and more affordable. There is some fantastic research going on and some fantastic companies being built, but we need even more innovation.

Why? Because although solar and wind power are great sources of low-carbon energy, they also have their downsides. One is that they’re not constant sources. With solar, it’s not just that the sun goes away at night; cloudy days also make it hard for some places to use solar year-round. According to this list from NOAA, my hometown of Seattle gets less sun than all but 9 cities in the United States.

When you hear about this problem with wind and solar, it is tempting to ask: Can’t we generate extra energy on days when the sun and wind are strong, and store it for those days when they’re not?

Here’s the problem: Storing energy turns out to be surprisingly hard and expensive.

As I wrote in this year’s Annual Letter: “If you wanted to store enough electricity to run everything in your house for a week, you would need a huge battery—and it would triple your electric bill.” Let’s break that sentence down.

“If you wanted to store enough electricity to run everything in your house for a week, you would need a huge battery …”

According to this U.S. Energy Information Administration fact sheet, in 2014 the typical U.S. household used 911 kilowatt-hours a month, which works out to roughly 210 kilowatt-hours per week (911 per month / 30 days per month x 7 days per week). The best lithium-ion batteries store less than 0.2 kilowatt-hours per kilogram.

So a lithium-ion battery large enough to store 210 kilowatt-hours would weigh at least 210 / 0.2, or 1050 kg. 1050 kg is about 2314 pounds, or more than one ton.

“…and it would triple your electric bill.”

This figure is based on the capital cost of a lithium-ion battery amortized over the useful life of the battery. For example, a battery that costs $150 per kilowatt-hour of capacity with a life cycle of 500 charges would, over its lifetime, cost $150 / 500, or $0.30 per kilowatt-hour.

So if a consumer tried to store enough electricity in this lithium-ion battery to run her house, she would be paying at least $0.30 per kilowatt-hour for the battery.

According to the EIA, the average price of electricity for consumers in the United States is around $0.10 per kilowatt-hour. The European Union, where prices average 20 cents per kilowatt-hour, and India, where they range from 2 to 15 cents, would see similarly dramatic increases.

This is one of the reasons why we need new inventions that improve our ability to store energy cheaply and efficiently. Getting them will make it easier for solar and wind to be a big part of our zero-carbon future.

Nicolas Gianquitti

Director Of Marketing Operations at ACP Home Armour

7y

Imagine working in cellphone industry in 1990..... Microsoft mid 90s..... internet search engine 2000's..... Get in the SOLAR ENERGY industry ASAP!!!!!!! 💰☀️🌎 NOWS YOUR CHANCE!!!! Check out: SolarJobMarket.Com

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Tom Barczak

Executive Director (ICGCM), Technical Director (ALPHA Foundation), Co-Owner Solar Wind Storage LLC

7y

I know how to do it. www.solarwindstorage.com

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Omer Alvie

UAE, Pakistan, Startups 💡⚡ Coaching & Mentoring

8y

Dubai Gets Record-Low Bid Of 2.99¢/kWh For 800 MW ... which makes the project the cheapest-ever in the world...

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Marisol Angel Guzman-Montoya

Equinor-Technology Digital Innovation, Enterprise Data Management. Artificial Intelligence and data sharing compliance

8y

Lcool. at least we agree is a zillion dollar idea :) that is a start. actually those things can be resolve if we think simpler just with one variable. weight is not weight if there is not mass, therefore this literally do not exist. we call things magnetic fields, energy, what about orbitacion. how can we increase the radio of the orbitacion of photons. suggestion, steal mass artificially from the photon, Action reaction and material balance, the photon will compensate with I bigger orbit , reduce acceleration, loose magnetic field and implode. you do not need to bring space to here.eave your thoughts here…

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Ian Cleland

Projects Director at SUCH Developments | Leading Sustainable Urban Development Movement

8y

Sydney Australia average energy - summer 49kW/hrs/week 7 months - winter 72kW/hrs/week 5 months - 2015 698kW/hrs/yr Our home a four bedroom 3 storey inner city home with four people (182m2 total floor area) . We have solar hot water with no booster 400 litres. No AC , all lights LED. The house leaks like a sieve so is not energy efficient. This includes heating an cooking which is more then half of energy requirements Our renovated home insulation vales U= 1.2w/m2. Insulation (R2.9) on the outside of existing brickwork, thermally broken double glazed windows. R10 roof insulation and R4 floor insulation. It's cost AU $285,000 which includes a new bathroom on attic level and new roofs. We expect energy consumption to be 21kW/hrs/week. That is taken from other people experience. Best I have come across is 16kW/hrs/week and that is for a family of 4. There is no discomfort in our home and no AC. During summer we will pump cooler night air into home to displace warm air build up during the day. We have also eliminated latent effects of external brickwork heating up during summer days. The only of AC is to reduce humidity when it is high during the summer time So when we install PV and battery storage it will run lighting computers and a TV. We are not providing power grid. Our main costs to the utilities will be connection cost which $85.00 a quarter. Cost per KW/hr AU$0.28 So Bill if we and others can do so can every body else in Western countries. The US is not trying very hard. Other than that I would agree with you last paragraph.

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