Legalectric

Naaaaaah, not that type… THIS TYPE, the type that can substitute for transmission, yes, that is NOW a realistic alternative to transmission lines:

Batteries are helping California make up for lost hydro power

John Wellinghoff, former FERC Chair, testified extensively in a Deposition in Wisconsin’s Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission docket (05-CE-146, go HERE for docket fiings) about use of battery storage, its viability as alternative to transmission, and cost recovery under the FERC cost recovery scheme:

Citizens Utility Board’s witness Mary Neal noted in Surrebuttal that transmission is an “outdated narrative,” and that batteries offered choice by changing the need for transmission:

And just now, George Nygaard fired off a missive about energy losses associated with battery storage. Oh my, something that hadn’t occurred to me before, a rare occurrance, and, well, it’s a big DOH!

And yes, it’s an issue, and it’s time to dig in and learn about storage. Best about this is that it’s yet another argument for siting near load:

Grid-Scale Battery Storage: Frequently Asked Questions

And this is the part that blows my dress up:

And from the U.S. Energy Information Administration:

Battery Storage in the United States: An Update on Market Trends

Losses are addressed in “round trip efficiency” which with battery storage is at 95%, hard to beat. From NREL’s Energy Storage: Days of Service
Sensitivity Analysis, here’s a comparison with hydrogen:

And here’s where it gets interesting — also from NREL’s Energy Storage: Days of Service Sensitivity Analysis:

Efficiency rules… and transmission loses in this calculation.