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Originally Posted by Martinjlm
Utilities have been upgrading power generation gradually for decades and have really begun stepping up the pace in the past 10 years
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I live in DFW and yes we have a nuclear power plant in Glen Rose. We also have numerous natural gas plants that are brought online as needed to supplement demand. In the summer when everybody is running their AC, we are subject to rolling blackouts or brownouts due to excess demand. Utilities beg people to defer use until evening hours. Now imagine if everybody gets home from work and plugs in their EV and turns on their AC.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martinjlm
One very interesting approach is to use "expired" electric car lithium ion batteries as long term storage to provide surplus during peak demand. Batteries for electric vehicles are designed to NOT use their entire capacity during their use in-vehicle. Built in safety factor. So when they are no longer suitable for automotive use, they still have approximately half their life left.
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Think of the logistics of transporting hundreds or thousands of spent battery packs to a utility and consider the rack space that would be required. Also bear in mind that the cutoffs prescribed for lithium ion batteries are there for a reason: safety. Now you would have an entire room/warehouse of marginal battery packs operating outside of their original design parameters. Ever seen a lithium ion fire? Imagine a whole room full of large packs.
More think tank insanity IMHO.