Grand Delusion: Why Battery Storage Can’t Fix Wind & Solar’s Intermittency Problem

Claims that mega-batteries will fix wind and solar’s natural intermittency problem turn out to be mega-myths. First, lithium-ion batteries of the kind pitched by Tesla (see above) - like every kind of battery - do not generate a single watt of power and are net consumers of electricity during their charge/discharge phase. Second, they are … Continue reading Grand Delusion: Why Battery Storage Can’t Fix Wind & Solar’s Intermittency Problem

Empty Promise: Why Giant Batteries Can’t Fix Wind & Solar’s Natural Unreliability

The truly deluded reckon that by adding a few giant lithium-ion batteries we’ll soon be running on nothing but sunshine and breezes. Those that (often grudgingly) concede wind and solar’s weather-driven (ie perfectly natural) unreliability, claim that storing wind and solar power when the sun’s up and the wind is blowing, just right, and releasing … Continue reading Empty Promise: Why Giant Batteries Can’t Fix Wind & Solar’s Natural Unreliability

Exploding Force: Lithium Battery Bombs Just Another Part of Our ‘Inevitable Green Transition’

Giant lithium-ion batteries are touted as planet saviours, but make sure you’re on the other side of town when they explode into toxic fireballs that firefighters simply can’t extinguish. On the large-scale, it’s the kind of terrifying Tesla moment experienced by locals in Victoria when one of these lithium-ion wonders went up in flames and … Continue reading Exploding Force: Lithium Battery Bombs Just Another Part of Our ‘Inevitable Green Transition’

Why Big Batteries Can’t Cure Wind & Solar’s Hopeless Intermittency

Politicos and the MSM are wedded to the myth that mega-batteries are all we need to overcome the chaotic delivery of wind and solar. The addition of which, we are told, is both imminent and cost-free. No country on earth has been able to crack the cost-effective grid-scale storage electricity. The laws of physics are … Continue reading Why Big Batteries Can’t Cure Wind & Solar’s Hopeless Intermittency

Storage Stories: Why Giant Batteries Can’t Solve Wind & Solar Power’s Natural Intermittency

It only takes a moment’s reckoning to appreciate that the grid-scale storage electricity generated by wind or solar is a perfect nonsense. It hasn’t occurred anywhere in the world; nor will it. The combined capacity of all of the batteries on Earth would store a trivial 10 minute’s worth of the World’s electricity needs. The … Continue reading Storage Stories: Why Giant Batteries Can’t Solve Wind & Solar Power’s Natural Intermittency

Hype-Dream: World’s Renewable Energy Storage Capacity Destined to Remain Totally Trivial

When they’re not bursting into toxic fireballs, the contribution made by giant lithium-ion batteries remains utterly trivial. They are, after all, electricity storage devices and don’t add a lick to electricity generation capacity, anywhere. The cost of battery storage, at scale, is out of all proportion to the benefits returned and we wouldn’t be having … Continue reading Hype-Dream: World’s Renewable Energy Storage Capacity Destined to Remain Totally Trivial

Tesla’s Incendiary Mega-Batteries: The Bigger They Come, The Longer They Burn

Giant lithium-ion batteries are said to be the saviour of intermittent wind and solar. But their pesky habit of exploding into toxic fireballs suggests that they’re not really part of the ‘inevitable transition’ team, after all. ‘Bombs’ are designed to store and quickly release copious amounts of energy, so are the mega-batteries being rolled out … Continue reading Tesla’s Incendiary Mega-Batteries: The Bigger They Come, The Longer They Burn

There Is No Plan B: Why Battery Storage Can’t Save Intermittent Wind & Solar

Carpetbaggers profiting from hopelessly intermittent wind and solar still claim that mega-batteries are the solution to their obvious lack of reliability. But it only takes a moment’s reckoning to appreciate that the grid-scale storage electricity generated by wind or solar is a perfect nonsense. It hasn’t occurred anywhere in the world; nor will it. David … Continue reading There Is No Plan B: Why Battery Storage Can’t Save Intermittent Wind & Solar

Economic Nonsense: Why Grid-Scale Battery Storage of Wind & Solar Power Can Never Work

At the recent Glasgow climate gabfest, plenty of hot air was dedicated to the mythical notion of grid-scale battery storage of wind and solar. It's true that renewable energy storage is setting the world on fire. But not as wind and solar acolytes might have hoped (see above and below). When giant lithium-ion batteries aren’t exploding in … Continue reading Economic Nonsense: Why Grid-Scale Battery Storage of Wind & Solar Power Can Never Work

No Solution to Wind Power’s Hopeless Intermittency: Cost Kills Big Battery Myth

The big wind drought in Europe has acolytes ranting about giant batteries saving the day. It’s a typical but delusional response to wind power’s hopeless intermittency. True enough, at the margins, it is possible to store electricity. But, the cost of doing so on any kind of scale is simply out of this world. Then … Continue reading No Solution to Wind Power’s Hopeless Intermittency: Cost Kills Big Battery Myth