Originally an EarthDay.org article.
They made 3 points.
They said, <<California must still rely on fossil fuels to meet its energy demands.>>
The peak energy demands can be reduced by using a ‘smart grid’ where the grid has some control over the heavier demands. One example is residential HVAC and hot water. These can be shut down for a few minutes without any noticeable loss. Also those rooftop solar installations that have battery storage could join a VPP – virtual power plant where they bid on supplying electricity.
<< Large-scale battery projects are essential to providing clean energy around the clock, allowing solar power generated during the day to be stored and used after sunset. >>
It should say “Large scale storage projects are essential to providing energy around the clock.” The type of electric storage doesn’t matter. About 95% of the storage is pumped hydro storage and it’s very large scale. There are plenty of sites that could hold a pumped hydro site.
<< For California to achieve 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2045, solar and wind projects will need to be built 3 times faster and battery storage expansion will need to be developed 8 times faster. >>
This storage speedup does not have to be battery. As I said above the storage can be pumped hydro. Since pumped hydro is generally a large scale project with hundreds of Megawatt-hours, it will take many battery storage projects to equal a single pumped hydro.
https://cleantechnica.com/2022/06/13/california-reaching-100-renewable-electricity/
