# Worlds largest electrical storage project



## WoodyIsGoody (Sep 27, 2017)

https://electrek.co/2017/09/13/tesla-celebration-event-giant-powerpack-site-sept-29/

129 MWh  Now that's a battery!


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## begreen (Sep 27, 2017)

Indeed! but a tourist destination?


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## WoodyIsGoody (Sep 28, 2017)

begreen said:


> Indeed! but a tourist destination?



Well, it's really sunny there. So it's got that going for it.


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## semipro (Sep 29, 2017)

I'm actually working on a federally-funded project now to investigate secondary uses for motive batteries that have been removed from EVs.  
This type of use is one of the things we've identified.


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## WoodyIsGoody (Sep 29, 2017)

semipro said:


> I'm actually working on a federally-funded project now to investigate secondary uses for motive batteries that have been removed from EVs.
> This type of use is one of the things we've identified.



I hope it didn't take much federal funding to identify that. Because that has been well understood for years.


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## semipro (Sep 29, 2017)

WoodyIsGoody said:


> I hope it didn't take much federal funding to identify that. Because that has been well understood for years.


My initial inclination is to say "great, my work is done" but I suspect we're talking about different things.  We're not looking at concepts but at the actual details of re-purposing cells of different chemical compositions, form factors, storage capacities, voltages, etc. into reusable assemblies.  If someone has done this already its certainly not represented in the literature.


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## WoodyIsGoody (Sep 29, 2017)

semipro said:


> My initial inclination is to say "great, my work is done" but I suspect we're talking about different things.  We're not looking at concepts but at the actual details of re-purposing cells of different chemical compositions, form factors, storage capacities, voltages, etc. into reusable assemblies.  If someone has done this already its certainly not represented in the literature.



Does the scope of the work include comparing the economics of re-purposing used batteries one time vs. recycling them into new cells as soon as they are removed from the vehicle?


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## semipro (Sep 30, 2017)

WoodyIsGoody said:


> Does the scope of the work include comparing the economics of re-purposing used batteries one time vs. recycling them into new cells as soon as they are removed from the vehicle?


Good question but I"m not sure.  I'm a subcontractor working primarily on the re-use aspects.


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## woodgeek (Sep 30, 2017)

WoodyIsGoody said:


> Does the scope of the work include comparing the economics of re-purposing used batteries one time vs. recycling them into new cells as soon as they are removed from the vehicle?



Financially, since the batteries scrap value would be the same after grid re-use versus before, this cost per year of re-use would just be their scrap/recycle value times the nominal discount (interest) rate.  Given the current low price of the virgin materials, high cost of battery recycling (not yet scaled up) and low discount rate, I think this would be a non-issue.

Conversely, it might make financial sense to warehouse existing used batteries to recycle at a later date when the stream is larger, recycling costs have fallen due to learning curve, and maybe raw material prices are under demand pressure.  Hooking them up as grid batteries pays for the cost of the warehousing them and then some.


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## begreen (Sep 30, 2017)

Actually, isn't the Three Gorges Dam the largest electrical storage project at 22,500MW?


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## WoodyIsGoody (Sep 30, 2017)

begreen said:


> Actually, isn't the Three Gorges Dam the largest electrical storage project at 22,500MW?



Haha! Good one!

But no, because it only stores electrical potential, not electricity.


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## begreen (Sep 30, 2017)

Just quoting the thread title. FWIW 22,500MW is the power generation. Staggering when you think about it.


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## woodgeek (Sep 30, 2017)

begreen said:


> Just quoting the thread title. FWIW 22,500MW is the power generation. Staggering when you think about it.



But how many hours can it sustain....40 days is 1000h....so 22TWh?  Enough to charge a billion LEAFs?


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## begreen (Sep 30, 2017)

More like how many years. Probably until the snow and glaciers feeding the Yangtze stop.


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