There are plenty of grid-scale approaches that have been suggested over the years, We already have pumped storage hydro, but not much of it. Lithium Ion batteries would be really expensive.
Others I have seen suggested are:
Any lower energy density, but cheaper batteries, e.g. sodium ion, and flow batteries.
Spinning flywheels.
Compressed air.
Hydrogen.
Making a big pile of "bricks" really hot, then running turbines from the heat.
I have probably forgotten a few. There are others, such as big weights dangling down disused mine shafts, but we don't have that many vertical shafts to use. But nobody has ever produced more than prototypes of any of them.
I would expect to see lots of relatively small "batteries" scattered around, either near towns or where renewables are connected to the grid. Building one massive multi-TWh battery somewhere in the midlands doesn't make a lot of sense.
There are plenty of grid-scale approaches that have been suggested over the years, We already have pumped storage hydro, but not much of it. Lithium Ion batteries would be really expensive.
Others I have seen suggested are:
Any lower energy density, but cheaper batteries, e.g. sodium ion, and flow batteries.
Spinning flywheels.
Compressed air.
Hydrogen.
Making a big pile of "bricks" really hot, then running turbines from the heat.
I have probably forgotten a few. There are others, such as big weights dangling down disused mine shafts, but we don't have that many vertical shafts to use. But nobody has ever produced more than prototypes of any of them.
I would expect to see lots of relatively small "batteries" scattered around, either near towns or where renewables are connected to the grid. Building one massive multi-TWh battery somewhere in the midlands doesn't make a lot of sense.
