It's obvious that "renewable" electricity isn't completely reliable. Solar panels don't supply juice at night or in very cloudy conditions. Wind turbines don't turn when the breezes fail. In order to provide electricity at times like those, when using renewables there must be a method of storing a portion of the electricity produced should conditions deteriorate. One way now in development is the iron-air battery.
Form Energy's 2023 iron-air battery module prototype. Image courtesy of Form Energy
Xcel Energy intends to use these batteries to store renewable energy at its power plants at Becker, MN and Pueblo, CO. These batteries, yet to be built, will be expected to store solar and wind power electricity for 100 hrs, in the case of the Sherco Generating Station in Becker to the extent of 40 mw from 4 iron-air batteries being built and supplied by Form Energy in Somerville, MA. The plant being replaced in Becker now produces 680 mw on a continuous basis. A solar panel array currently under construction on the site is designed to put out 480 mw. In other words, the battery storage capacity will be less than 10% of the power supplied by the new renewable system.
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