Hoping to Grow? Beware, There is a Dragon Lurking in the Matrix!

Hoping to Grow? Beware, There is a Dragon Lurking in the Matrix!

A business needs to constantly develop to survive. Just like a living organism, you must adapt to changes in your environment. New technologies, consumer attitudes, regulatory requirements and cost structures constantly turn over your market, changing the routes to success. ...

Electricity Storage 8 - So What Have We Learned?

Electricity Storage 8 – So What Have We Learned?

I started this thread of posts to discover whether electricity storage is a major barrier to wider deployment of renewables. So, what have we learned about electricity storage over the last nine weeks? Renewable energy has not created the need for ...

Electricity Storage 7 –  Power-to-X, Chemicals as an Energy Reservoir

Electricity Storage 7 – Power-to-X, Chemicals as an Energy Reservoir

Last week we talked about batteries for grid scale electricity storage. There is another way we can use chemical bonds to store spare renewable electricity – Power-to-X. The idea behind Power-to-X is to convert renewable electricity into a transportable and stable ...

Electricity Storage Options 6 - Batteries Included

Electricity Storage Options 6 – Batteries Included

This week we look at using batteries for temporary storage of renewable electricity. The installed battery capacity is still small compared to pumped hydro, but it is the fastest growing solution, and the most flexible. Battery is a generic term for ...

Electricity Storage Options 5 - Pure Electricity

Electricity Storage Options 5 – Pure Electricity

After a quick holiday break over Christmas and the New Year, we get back to the blog series on energy storage technologies. I hope you all had an enjoyable time! In this 5th episode, we cover storing electricity as electricity – ...

Electricity Storage Options 4 - Turning up the Heat

Electricity Storage Options 4 – Turning up the Heat

Looking for practical storage solutions for an electricity grid dominated by renewables, we have already examined gravity, pressure, and momentum as ways to capture and hold energy for later use. Next on our list is heat. It is helpful to store ...

Electricity Storage Options 3 – Springs and Tops

Electricity Storage Options 3 – Springs and Tops

This series of blogs is about electricity storage and how it works with renewable energy to create net-zero electricity grids. Last week I talked about using weights and gravity to store electricity. The most popular method is pumped hydro storage. Pump ...

Electricity Storage Options 2 - Using Gravity

Electricity Storage Options 2 – Using Gravity

Last week, I looked at the wide range of technologies available for electricity storage to support renewable energy grids. Gravity systems are the dominant form of electricity storage today. Current installations can store up to 9,000 GWh—about a quarter of the ...

Renewable Energy and Storage - the Options

Renewable Energy and Storage – the Options

I get frustrated that any time renewable energy and net-zero get mentioned on social media, reporting a new technical breakthrough, a bigger pipeline of projects or reducing costs, someone will triumphantly reply “you know the sun doesn’t shine at night!”, ...

Electric Vehicles Push Into Logistics

Electric Vehicles Push Into Logistics

This week is my first anniversary as a battery electric vehicle driver. My previous car had reached the end of its economic life and I had promised myself that my next vehicle would be electric. There is little to say ...