Smart Grid: Energy Storage: A123 supplies giant lithium battery for 'hybrid power plant' tnr.v, czx.v, rm.v, lmr.v, sqm, fmc, lit, lth.to, wlc.v, clq.v, aone, hev, vlnc, sne

A123 Systems batteries supply up to 12 megawatts of power at the Los Andes substation in Chile.

(Credit: A123 Systems)

 Energy Storage as a part of Smart Grid systems will be a very important part in integration of Alternative sources of energy like Solar and Wind power.

 "Energy storage systems based on Lithium batteries will be another very important source of demand for Lithium. They will allow the integration of different sources of energy into the smart grid systems: like solar, wind and existing generation plants. With more and more EVs on the streets we can start to talk about Car to Grid technology as well, when smart grid can talk to the EVs and use the energy from the EV battery during peak hours when electric cars are parked at the office and charge the EV from Energy Storage facility at night. Energy storage can be charge during the day using solar and wind power among other sources of energy in this scheme."

"Electric Cars are coming on our streets and utility companies are getting ready to charge our future. All naysayers will be proven wrong in the end - we could only dream about the numbers of Electric Cars to be on the streets when they will put sizable constrain on the existing grid! This time will come and it will be matter of technological progress and investment into the smart grid to accommodate the new demand for electricity and flexible grid management. 

  It is a manageable task and presents an investment opportunity on its own. Who are the big players here - corporate "cream de la cream": GE, Google, Siemens, SAP, ABB and utilities companies world-wide amongst others. We are confident that they will manage to make electricity available for our Electric Cars in time.

   Electricity could be produced from the number of sources, some of them could be renewable and their share will increase dramatically in the years to come  - Oil comes from depleting source and can not sustain our Energy diet any more."

Cnet.com:

A123 supplies giant battery for 'hybrid power plant'
by Martin LaMonica

Lithium ion battery company A123 Systems today said that it will supply a 20-megawatt battery for grid storage in northern Chile, one of the larger projects to use batteries to fortify the grid.

AES Gener, a division of U.S.-based power generation company AES, will install 10 shipping container-size storage systems in northern Chile to work in conjunction with a new 500-megawatt power plant called Angamos.

The batteries will be used for "spinning reserves" to ensure grid reliability by filling gaps in power in that area, which needs a reliable supply of electricity for mining operations. The system is designed to supply its full power for 15 minutes.

The project follows a similar 12-megawatt battery installation AES did in Chile in 2009 with A123 Systems' products for frequency regulation. Rather than ramp up power production from natural gas plants to maintain a steady frequency, the grid draws on the batteries' storage for quick bursts of power.

Energy storage on the grid has been done for decades in the form of pumped hydro plants, but different types of storage, such as batteries and flywheels, are starting to take hold in the U.S. Batteries now are mainly used to improve reliability with short-term storage, but some projects are seeking longer-term storage coupled with wind and solar farms.

Lithium ion battery companies are targeting hybrid and electric vehicles, but grid storage is another important, if smaller, market. A123 Systems, which will supply batteries for Fisker's Karma plug-in hybrid, said it has sold 35 megawatts worth of grid storage."

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