Maine is far from its goal for renewable energy battery storage

We have been saying for almost 14 years that grid scale storage of electricity is 40 years off if at all. Right now, despite endless noise/propaganda from the windies and solar shysters, it does not exist. And what about the COSTS $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ of all these Rube Goldberg battery hookups and, while you're at it, what about the COSTS $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ of all the new transmission required exclusively for wind and solar?

Why are we not talking costs?  Finally, don't make a transition to renewable energy a foregone conclusion when in fact it is a disaster in the making. How's everyone's electricity bill this month?

by Mehr Sher
May 17, 2023

Maine is in the early stages of developing battery storage for excess renewable energy, but it will need more storage capacity as the state transitions to clean energy to meet statutory climate goals, energy policy experts said.

Maine is just the ninth state to set energy storage goals. But so far it has reached only 21 percent of its goal for 2025.

Maine has 63 megawatts of operational battery energy storage, according to the Governor’s Energy Office. But the state has statutory targets to deploy 300 megawatts of battery energy storage by 2025 and 400 megawatts by 2030.

Battery energy storage systems are a relatively new, developing technology. The current technology stores excess electricity in large lithium ion batteries — similar to those used in cell phones or cars — to provide power either when less electricity is being generated or when backup is needed during a power outage.

“We can’t move very fast towards greener energy if we don’t include battery energy storage in the mix,” said Sen. Eloise Vitelli, D-Arrowsick, at a panel discussion on battery energy storage deployment organized by the Environmental and Energy Technology Council of Maine, or E2Tech, on Monday. “Renewable sources such as wind and solar are intermittent, and we need to do something in those interim times when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.”

On a commercial scale, battery systems are set up in large containers. Inside the containers are racks with battery modules on them, which look like bookcases stacked with large briefcases, said Paul Williamson, the senior development manager at Key Capture Energy, a New York-based company that builds and operates battery energy storage systems. The battery systems can come in various sizes and can be deployed on a grid scale or feed into smaller poles and wires.

Batteries can store anywhere from hundreds of megawatts to thousands of megawatts of electricity, Williamson said, but it depends on whether the local infrastructure, or transmission lines and substations, can support them.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission recognizes that battery energy storage will be increasingly important and may require a different process to interconnect to the grid than other energy resources, Phil Bartlett, the PUC’s chairperson, said.

Apart from the green benefits of storing and using excess renewable power, battery energy storage systems can also help prevent expensive upgrades to the grid, Bartlett said.

“Battery energy storage may be useful for grid reliability and could help us avoid the need for more expensive upgrades at a substation or as a part of the distribution circuit,” he said.

In Maine, there are several companies working to develop and build these systems. There are more than 450 megawatts planned to be installed in Maine, according to Dan Burgess, the director of the Governor’s Energy Office. He didn’t elaborate on the timeframe for when the battery energy storage systems can be expected to be installed.

“We need some larger projects to be developed in order to meet these targets, and we need to be looking at programs and initiatives to get there,” he said at E2Tech’s event on Monday.

Continue reading at:

Mehr Sher is a Report for America corps member. Additional support for this reporting is provided by the Unity Foundation and donations by BDN readers.

https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/05/17/mainefocus/maine-renewab...

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Comment by Penny Gray on May 18, 2023 at 10:30am

I've yet to read a single article in the BDN that gives any real information about renewable energy projects in Maine, existing or proposed, even the most basic cost benefit analysis, and this article on battery storage is no exception.

Comment by Willem Post on May 18, 2023 at 8:33am

Addition to my comment

Not one red cent of the battery costs will be charged to the Owners of the SOLAR SYSTEM GRID DISTURBERS

Comment by Willem Post on May 18, 2023 at 8:26am

This articles shows ignorance regarding-grid scale, utility-grade batteries systems

The blind talking to the blind

Batteries do not store MW

Batteries store MWh

A battery rating of 1.0 MW/4MWh means, it theoretically can deliver one MW of power for 4 hours, which, on a grid-scale, is a measly quantity. 


Such a battery system has an all-in, turnkey cost of at least $600/kWh, delivered as AC. 
400 MW of such systems would cost 400 MW x 1000 kWh/MWh x 600 $/kWh x 1/0.6, per Tesla = 


Tesla recommends not to discharge below 20% full and not to charge above 80% full, to ensure a 15-year life.
The same applies to EVs

In addition, the system ages at about 1 to 1.5%/y, compounded

THESE FACTORS REQUIRE MUCH MORE BATTERY CAPACITY

The above battery would be sufficient to shift a very small part of the midday solar bulge to the peak hours of late afternoon/early evening 

 

Remember, this SHIFTING is subsidized, very expensive solar energy taken from the high voltage grid, costing at least 12 to 20 c/kWh, in case of net-metering, of which only 80% is fed back into the high voltage grid during peak hours


The other 20% is round-trip loss, on an A-toZ basis.

The wholesale rates a utility pays during peak hours typically are about 7 to 8 c/kWh, which means THE ELECTRICITY SHIFTING TAKES PLACE AT A SIGNIFICANT LOSS, WHICH WILL BE CHARGED ONTO ALREADY OVER-CHARGED, OVER-TAXED, OVER-REGULATED MAINERS

On top of that loss is the hourly owning and operating cost of the battery system, which likely is more than 20 c/kWh, just to amortize borrowed money, plus provide at least a 12% compounded rate of return to the Owners, on THEIR investment, because inflation, at present, is about 6%/y and the cost of money, at present, is about 6%/y.

In addition, there are annual costs, such as insurance, maintenance, operations, service, part replacements, etc.

Comment by Dan McKay on May 18, 2023 at 5:48am

The next step to electricity rationing. First, they flood the state with wind, then solar. Then they push electric heat pumps, stoves, water heaters and vehicles to create shortages. Then they demand compliance with time of use electricity and now, battery storage, which is not a generation source, it is a generation consumer that will compete for the dwindling electricity supply.

If these moves are not countered with resistance, rationing of grid power is coming very soon. Get a profane or gas-powered generator before they outlaw them. Mad Max is coming!

Comment by Monique Aniel Thurston on May 17, 2023 at 5:46pm

"Apart from the green benefits of storing and using excess renewable power, battery energy storage systems can also help prevent expensive upgrades to the grid, Bartlett said."

OK Phil. I am dumb, what is a green benefit  ?

Filling the coffers of a South Korean company ? Well done Phil. 

https://www.kedglobal.com/renewable-energy/newsView/ked202109090009...'s%20largest%20grid%20solutions%20markets.

 

Maine as Third World Country:

CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.

Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********

(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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