{"id":5713,"date":"2018-03-06T18:59:20","date_gmt":"2018-03-06T23:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/herecomessolar.nyc\/?p=5713"},"modified":"2018-03-06T18:59:20","modified_gmt":"2018-03-06T23:59:20","slug":"batteries-are-fun-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solar1.org\/herecomessolar\/2018\/03\/06\/batteries-are-fun-1\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s So Fun About Batteries?!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Chapter I. Giga<em>what?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/media.giphy.com\/media\/Zwh98xa73IHCI7w6vg\/giphy.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If you don\u2019t follow energy or environmental news closely, you might be surprised by the breathless enthusiasm surrounding batteries these days. No offense to your vintage Furby, but we\u2019re not talking about AAs \u2013 or even the high-tech lithium-ion battery in your smartphone \u2013 but a diverse cast of energy storage technologies,[note]It\u2019s not just electrochemical batteries that can charge and discharge energy. We\u2019ll explore some of the many other effective, ingenious, and occasionally bizarre energy storage technologies in a <a href=\"http:\/\/herecomessolar.nyc\/batteries-are-fun-4\/\">later post<\/a>. For now, please enjoy this sneak peek:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/herecomessolar.nyc\/wp-newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/VAWyqx.gif\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5718\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5718\" src=\"http:\/\/herecomessolar.nyc\/wp-newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/VAWyqx.gif\" alt=\"VAWyqx\" width=\"252\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a>[\/note]\u00a0built at every scale, from small systems in homes and businesses to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/the-switch\/wp\/2017\/12\/26\/teslas-enormous-battery-in-australia-just-weeks-old-is-already-responding-to-outages-in-record-time\/?utm_term=.bf9099ba026b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">football field-sized batteries in the Australian desert<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"energy-storage-definitions\"><\/div>\n<p>But first, let\u2019s define some essential terms. Note that in the energy sector, \u201creliability\u201d and \u201cresilience\u201d have different, very specific meanings. Feel free to skim this section and return later as necessary.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Energy Storage<\/strong> \u2013 Technology that stores potential energy for later use. The most common of these is the electrochemical battery, which itself comes in various forms. Other energy storage technologies include pumped hydropower, compressed air, thermal storage, and many more.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Battery<\/strong> \u2013 A device that stores energy in one or more electrochemical cells, and discharges it in the form of electrons flowing from its negative terminal, or anode. Batteries can be single-use (e.g. alkaline) or rechargeable (e.g. lithium-ion, lead-acid, etc.). Of course, the\u00a0larger-scale applications we\u2019ll be discussing on this blog use only rechargeable batteries.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reliability<\/strong> \u2013 A power system\u2019s ability to maintain consistent electrical service. This system could be anything from a multi-state section of the electric grid to a tiny off-grid solar system. The fewer interruptions a system experiences, the more \u201creliable\u201d it is.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Resilience<\/strong> \u2013 A power system\u2019s ability to quickly and effectively bounce back from a service interruption. A section of the grid is \u201cresilient\u201d if it can quickly restore power after a blackout. A home, apartment building, or community center is \u201cresilient\u201d if it can provide its own power during a grid blackout, such as from a solar + storage system.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Solar + Storage (AKA Resilient Solar) <\/strong>\u2013 Shorthand for a paired solar photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage system. Most solar systems can operate during blackouts <em>only <\/em>if they are paired with energy storage. Therefore, in order to be considered \u201cResilient Solar,\u201d a system must include energy storage.[note]There are exceptions to this rule. For example, some solar inverters feature AC plugs which, under good solar conditions, can be used to charge smartphones during a blackout. But for the purposes of this discussion, \u201cResilient Solar\u201d always includes solar and storage.[\/note]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"energy-storage-revolution\"><\/div>\n<p>Congratulations! You now know more about energy storage than 99% of Americans. However, you might still be wondering what exactly is so <em>exciting<\/em> about batteries.<\/p>\n<p>Energy storage is revolutionizing the way energy is produced, delivered, consumed, and valued. If managed properly, this revolution will fundamentally transform the energy sector in five ways. The energy storage revolution will:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ol>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ol>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ol>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: bold\"><span style=\"font-weight: normal\"><a href=\"http:\/\/herecomessolar.nyc\/batteries-are-fun-4\/\"><em>Finally<\/em> enable the transition to a majority-renewables grid<\/a>;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: bold\"><span style=\"font-weight: normal\"><a href=\"http:\/\/herecomessolar.nyc\/batteries-are-fun-5\/\">Abandon today\u2019s boring, antiquated, mostly uni-directional grid for the dynamic grid of the future<\/a>;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: bold\"><span style=\"font-weight: normal\"><a href=\"http:\/\/herecomessolar.nyc\/batteries-are-fun-3\/\">Grant individuals unprecedented control over their energy profiles<\/a>;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: bold\"><span style=\"font-weight: normal\">Electrify the transportation sector; and<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: bold\"><span style=\"font-weight: normal\"><a href=\"http:\/\/herecomessolar.nyc\/batteries-are-fun-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vastly improve resilience during blackouts<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a lot to take in, and far too much to dig into in one blog post. Fear not \u2013 stay tuned right here for new posts that will treat these impacts with the time and respect they deserve.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Enough with all this blather. How will batteries affect NYC?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To date, New Yorkers haven\u2019t seen many cutting-edge energy storage systems installed. That\u2019s about to change, thanks to Governor Cuomo\u2019s new energy storage commitment \u2013 the country\u2019s most ambitious at a whopping 1.5 gigawatts by 2025.[note]To be clear: this is the most ambitious <a href=\"http:\/\/www3.dps.ny.gov\/pscweb\/WebFileRoom.nsf\/ArticlesByCategory\/3CEE33839DAD87888525823C00622EE4\/$File\/pr18010.pdf?OpenElement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">per capita<\/a>\u00a0energy storage goal\u00a0of any state.[\/note]\u00a0In terms of peak power output, that\u2019s the equivalent of over 4.3 million solar panels.[note]Using 345-watt PV panels.[\/note]<\/p>\n<p>This commitment also aims to employ 30,000 New Yorkers, and is essential to New York\u2019s twin goals of a 50% renewable grid by 2030 and an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.<\/p>\n<p>Suffice it to say that New York is leading the way on energy storage and renewable energy \u2013 or, rather, New York <em>will <\/em>lead the way. First comes the hard work of getting these technologies deployed at scale. That\u2019s where you come in.<\/p>\n<p>In upcoming chapters, we\u2019ll discuss how <em>you <\/em>can become the proud guardian of your very own resilient power system.<\/p>\n<p><strong>P.S.<\/strong> Want to stay hip to the latest in\u00a0Solar + Storage? Keep an eye on our Instagram, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ResilientNYC\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@ResilientNYC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr noshade=\"noshade\" size=\"10\" \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chapter I. Gigawhat? If you don\u2019t follow energy or environmental news closely, you might be surprised by the breathless enthusiasm surrounding batteries these days. No offense to your vintage Furby, but we\u2019re not talking about AAs \u2013 or even the high-tech lithium-ion battery in your smartphone \u2013 but a diverse cast of energy storage technologies,[note]It\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[7,14,15,16,18],"programcat":[],"class_list":["post-5713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-brilliant-blog","tag-energy-storage","tag-resilience","tag-resilient-solar","tag-resilient-storage","tag-solar-storage"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/solar1.org\/herecomessolar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/solar1.org\/herecomessolar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/solar1.org\/herecomessolar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solar1.org\/herecomessolar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solar1.org\/herecomessolar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/solar1.org\/herecomessolar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5713\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/solar1.org\/herecomessolar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solar1.org\/herecomessolar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solar1.org\/herecomessolar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5713"},{"taxonomy":"programcat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/solar1.org\/herecomessolar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/programcat?post=5713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}