MEGAPACKS are Tesla’s grid-level battery storage systems. Other companies also make similar systems. The question is why does adding battery storage to the electric grid make sense? A recent FutureAzA video talks about how they are selling like hotcakes all over the world but some people don’t understand why. Or think they are just needed because of the PV solar and wind generation being added to the grid.
Well, that’s not it. Yes, solar and wind don’t supply a stable continuous input but the electric grid already has other issues. Demand isn’t constant. It tends to be much lower at night than during the day. There are also the two “residential peaks” when people get up and get ready to go to work and in the evening when they get back home.
When hydroelectric sources were the primary source of energy adjusting the flow rate of the water going into the generators was an easy way to match generated energy with demand. But, many sources — for example, nuclear reactors and coal plants — can’t just be adjusted up and down on a second by second or even hour by hour demand change. Typically, a gas peaker plant is used to adjust generation capacity. Unfortunately, these systems cost much more to operate than the non-adjustable systems.
If you can store generated energy on a large scale you can reduce or even eliminate the need for peaker plants. And, yes, that is where grid-level battery storage enters the picture.
