Qinghai province used only wind, solar and hydroelectric power to supply its population of 5.8 million. While the U.S. flounders on environmental action and a growing number of cabinet officials out themselves as climate deniers, China continues to make waves as an emerging leader in this space. Chinese state media announced this week that the sprawling province of Qinghai in the country’s northwest had run for seven consecutive days entirely on renewable energy. The province, which is larger than Texas, relied only on wind, solar and hydroelectric power from June 17-23, reported Xinhua. These renewable energy sources reportedly provided Qinghai and its population of 5.8 million with 1.1 bil
Batteries are not a new technology. The voltaic pile—the first true battery—came to be in 1800 thanks to Alessandro Volta. Since then, the invention of several different types of batteries has taken place. Important to this narrative is the invention of the lead-acid battery by Gaston Planté in 1859. This was the first battery that could be recharged by passing a reverse current through it. The battery itself is heavy and not applicable in all instances. However, it’s still used in today’s automobiles and other applications where weight does not matter as much. You’re also probably familiar with lithium batteries, which are a newer creation. Lithium batteries hit the market in the 1970s and
Warehouse personnel can take simple steps today to improve battery life tomorrow. Lead-acid battery technology hasn't changed much since it was introduced in the 19th century, but that doesn't justify taking an outdated approach to maintaining the lead-acid batteries that power a facility's forklifts. Advances in charging technology and maintenance techniques combined with common-sense approaches to heating and cooling can go a long way toward keeping batteries in their best possible condition—a must when you think about the considerable investment involved in purchasing a new battery. Forklift batteries cost thousands of dollars—some upwards of $5,000. Experts agree that battery life depend
As more states offer incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles (EVs), governments are overlooking the benefits that alternative eco-friendly and energy efficient vehicles offer. By only providing credits for pure EVs, states are missing out on an opportunity to ignite adoption of other cars, like micro-hybrids, which also offer environmental advantages compared to traditional combustion engines. Micro-hybrids aim to combine the best characteristics of modern combustion engines with energy storage systems to reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency—the same benefits that appeal to EV drivers. Start-Stop Systems and Vehicle Electrification In a micro-hybrid vehicle, start-stop techn
In what it says is a world first, Toronto Hydro is testing pole-mounted energy storage devices that can supplement electricity during peak hours in homes. In a pilot project, a compact white box, a little bigger than a suitcase, has been mounted about six metres up a hydro pole in the Keele St. and Sheppard Ave. W. area. It’s paired with a 50 kilowatt transformer that typically powers about 12 houses. “It’s a lithium ion battery just like the one in your cell phone, and it’s equivalent to 2,000 cell phone batteries,” said Gary Thompson, supervisor of engineering at Toronto Hydro. These units, each storing 15 kilowatt hours of energy, aren’t meant to provide bulk electricity to power houses b
India is expected to add more than 1GWh of lithium-ion battery assembly capacity this year, with a host of companies getting in on the act, according to the head of the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA). The South Asian country has already surpassed 1GWh of distributed lithium-ion battery deployment for applications such as telecom towers and bank ATM machines, but to reach this stage companies had been importing complete battery packs from outside India. However, Rahul Walawalkar, IESA executive director, told Energy-Storage.News that strong demand for batteries in such applications has continued. Therefore, since the end of last year, many firms have started setting up assembly capacity
New Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation’s largest fuel retailer, is planning to foray into energy storage business. The firm is weighing the option of launch of an improved version of lead-acid battery for low cost mobility and industrial applications. The idea of developing a next-generation energy storage product is also being contemplated by the oil marketer as told by IOC’s Director-Research & Development (R&D)- Dr. S.S.V.Ramakumar to ETEnergyWorld. “We are strategizing to enter into the battery vertical with our improved lead-acid battery. We are also working on lithium-ion battery chemistry for improved performance. Besides these, we have been exploring on creating batt
India’s first grid-scale solar-plus-storage tender has been held up by the extreme drop in the country’s solar PV prices this year, according to Rahul Walawalkar, executive director of the Indian Energy Storage Alliance. Although not officially announced by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), which released the tender, the process has clearly faced delay after attracting strong levels of interest from 13 bidders in late 2016. The tender is for 5MW/2.5MWh battery energy storage systems added to two separate solar projects of 50MW each in the Kadapa Solar Park, Andhra Pradesh. When the tender was released, SECI expected solar tariffs to still be around the previous INR4.50 (US$0.07) benc
What if you need a battery? A really big one — big enough to run a city? It’s a question that inventors have been tackling for decades. No one wants the fridge, or the hospital, going on the blink when demand surges or the power plant needs repairs. It turns out to be a surprisingly tricky question to answer. Today, with the rise of green energy sources like solar and wind, the need for industrial-scale energy storage is becoming ever more vital to make sure there’s power even after the sun sets or the breeze dies down. It’s usually (but not always) still too impractical to string together enough traditional batteries — those powered by chemical reactions, like the ones in smoke alarms and T
The first quarter of 2017 was the biggest in history for the U.S. energy storage market. According to GTM Research and the Energy Storage Association’s (ESA) latest U.S. Energy Storage Monitor, 234 megawatt-hours of energy storage were deployed in the first quarter, which represents more than fiftyfold growth year-over-year. When measured in megawatts, it was the third-largest quarter in history, ranking behind only the fourth quarters of 2015 and 2016. Front-of-meter deployments grew 591 percent year-over-year, boosted by a few large projects in Arizona, California and Hawaii. read the full article on greentechmedia.com
While the United States is walking away from the historic Paris Climate Agreement, India is making a bold vow to start selling only electric cars by 2030. India is one of the world's most polluted countries. Its energy department said in a blog post that it has set the "ambitious" target to stop selling gas-powered vehicles in an attempt to clean up its air. As the country's economy has boomed, new industries and commuters have spewed pollutants in the air at staggering rates. Now, its 1.3 billion residents are suffering. One estimate says India's air contributes to 1.2 million deaths per year. Doctors have said breathing the air in New Dehli, the nation's capital, is like smoking 10 cigaret
Aqua Metals, Inc. (NASDAQ:AQMS), which is commercializing a non-polluting electrochemical lead recycling technology called AquaRefining™, today successfully hosted its first analyst visitor day. The analysts were given a tour of AquaRefinery 1, located in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Complex (TRIC), led by Aqua Metals’ executive management team. Analysts were able to view the critical processes at the AquaRefinery as they happened, including: battery feedstock deliveries; battery breaking and separation; desulfurization and pre-AquaRefining digestion processes; AquaRefining on simultaneously running AquaRefining modules; and shipments of lead products to customers. Among the firms that attended
