Michigan Solar & Wind Power Solutions

Is Renewable Energy Overcoming Its Achilles Heel? 01/18/2009

Posted by Mark Hagerty

Opponents of RE have long stated there is only so far RE can take us since the power they produce is sporadic.  Solar electric will only produce during the day, and wind turbines are only producing when the wind is blowing.  What do you do when it has been overcast for days and the wind isn't blowing?  The science of energy storage systems has been the Achilles heel of the industry. 

Currently there are over a dozen different technologies working hard to fill this market need.  There is advanced lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, nickel metal hydride, zinc-air, super-capacitors, and lead-carbon to name a few. A couple of these show very promising results.  One of the most promising is lead-carbon technology.  Check out this quote from an article by John Peterson, an expert in battery technologies;

 "A 10-fold improvement in the performance of any technology is by definition highly disruptive. The fact that lead-carbon achieved these disruptive performance gains using cheap and plentiful raw materials that are readily available from domestic sources and easily recyclable for use in new batteries using existing infrastructure is an absolute game changer; particularly when the closest comparable technology is based on expensive imported raw materials that are not easily recyclable for use in new batteries using existing infrastructure."

This technology uses the existing lead-acid technology adding carbon to the negative electrode.  This relatively simple change has increased the C-rate (ability of a battery to deliver its charge measures in time) of the lead-acid battery to four time the speed.  It is now comparable to a superconductor. 

For more information please read this recent article by John Peterson.  It is worth the time! - http://seekingalpha.com/article/115257-lead-carbon-a-game-changer-for-alternative-energy-storage?source=yahoo