Green Technology

One problem with the power grid is that there is no "storage pool"  ... power is there and if not used it is gone -- even if not needed.

Companies are looking at ways to "store" power; ranging from compressed air storage to capacitors to water storage to massive flywheels.  This can be used to store power when demand is low and release it when it is high ... allowing plants to run at a constant rate regardless of lead and then let the power flow back when the load changes ... one great use is for solar or wind systems ... power can be stored and then released when there is no wind or too much cloud cover.

Read on for more ...

" ... battery attached to American Electric Power's grid in Charleston, W.V. ...  a buffer, able to generate a few hours of power for an overloaded substation"

" ... three of them, capable of discharging 6 megawatts, will cost about $27 million. That's part of the reason that American Electric Power's use of storage on the grid is the exception, rather than the rule."

" ... two markets when it comes to utility-grade energy storage. ... storage devices that can store several hours or even weeks of electricity. ... are designed to make power generation resources, particularly wind or solar power, available when it's needed"

" ... other ... is ... for "grid stabilization," which is like the short-term, random access memory that a PC uses.

Via:  CNet  Link