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https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/energy-storage/a-huge-battery-has-replaced-hawaiis-last-coal-plant>
"Hawaii shut down its last coal plant on September 1, 2022, eliminating 180
megawatts of fossil-fueled baseload power from the grid on Oahu — a crucial
step in the state’s first-in-the-nation commitment to cease burning fossil
fuels for electricity by 2045.
But the move posed a question that’s becoming increasingly urgent as clean
energy surges across the United States: How do you maintain a reliable grid
while switching from familiar fossil plants to a portfolio of small and large
renewables that run off the vagaries of the weather?
Now Hawaii has an answer: It’s a gigantic battery, unlike the gigantic
batteries that have been built before.
The Kapolei Energy Storage system actually began commercial operations before
Christmas on the industrial west side of Oahu, according to Plus Power, the
Houston-based firm that developed and owns the project. (The company just had
the good sense to wait to announce it until journalists and readers had fully
returned from winter holidays.)
Now, Kapolei’s 158 Tesla Megapacks are charging and discharging based on
signals from utility Hawaiian Electric. The plant’s 185 megawatts of
instantaneous discharge capacity match what the old coal plant could inject
into the grid, though the batteries react far more quickly, with a
250-millisecond response time. Instead of generating power, they absorb it from
the grid, ideally when it’s flush with renewable generation, and deliver that
cheap, clean power back in the evening hours when it’s desperately needed.
“It feels incredible to be part of what Hawaii and Hawaiian Electric are doing
to get to 100% renewable energy and to play this enabling role to help them get
one step closer,” Plus Power Executive Chairman Brandon Keefe told
Canary
Media."
Via Danny ter Haar and Kenny Chaffin.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
