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They could just boil the ocean if they really need to dump energy.


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You can also just disconnect solar panels if large swaths of generation is not required.

Who will pay for a solar plant that is either disconnected or otherwise wastes the energy generated?


If we get to that point, it sounds like we haven't designed the system to our needs.

In this case; deploy more storage to match the output of the panels and our energy requirements, or simply deploy less panels.


Who puts up the capital for energy storage plants that don't generate any power?

How many cycles does the battery in a smart phone last for? How are grid scale batteries any different?

The reason solar isn't pervasive yet is not technical it is the economics to replace dispatchable generation aren't there yet.


Grid scale batteries are different in that they can use different chemistry (volume is not as important), better cooling and less aggressive charge/discharge cycles to increase lifetime.

I was under the impression that Tessa's product they sold to Australia was essentially a bunch of tesla vehicle batteries which are lithium ion which is the same as laptops and phones. Is there some distinction?

I have seen and old grid scale battery at fort Bragg. It was lead acid and the size of a city block and could power the whole base for three days, but it was for backup not regular cycles. I thought new grid scale batteries were different from this one.

Less agressive charge/discharge cycles means overprovisioning which means more cost.if you Want the battery to power the island overnight in 5 years then you have to get a battery that is 5x the MWH that you need. Which is a fine technical solution but makes the economics worse.


I'm no expert in the topic, but "lithium ion" is a broad category of different chemistries with different characteristics. Cooling also plays a very important role. Tesla's powerwall for example has a warranty of 5000 cycles whereas my Macbook's battery is only good for 1000 cycles and my previous Macbook's battery was only good for 300 cycles.

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