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I think it varies depending on the location. In the Miami-Dade they actually use recycled automobile batteries. However, I think that's probably a one-off project.

FPL already has 18 solar farms in Florida, and at least one large-scale battery storage project at Babcock Ranch, a town designed from the ground up for solar.

According to their 10-Year Power Site Plan that was filed in April of 2018 they are still experimenting with battery configurations, and purchase through competitive RFP.

If each Hammerfest machine delivers its advertised 1MW of power, then you need 1,000 of them to hope to match the output of a typical gas or coal-fired power station.

No, that's not "typical" at all. The largest coal-fired plants are 1-2GW; currently I believe there is no gas-fired plant anywhere in the world that is 1GW. So it would be more accurate to claim 200-500, while 1,000 is pure exaggeration.

Well, that depends on how you count. A single coal unit really maxes out at about 1200-1300MW, although these are pretty rare. More typical is a unit in the size range of 400-900MW. Note that the viability point is somewhere 150-300MW right now in the US for a coal plant. Anything smaller will have a hard time making money right now given economies of scale and the low low price of natural gas. Multiple small units still aren't cost-effective. You need the big machine to make money nowadays in the US. Many coal plants have multiple units on site.

As for gas power plants, they are at 1000MW now, and have been. Turkey Point uses 3 gas turbines and 1 steam turbine in one "block" to produce around 1150MW, and was completed in 2007. 2 on 1 (2 gas turbines, 1 steam turbine) blocks are more common in the industry. Recently gas turbines have increased in size to the point where this can also break 1000MW. The Mitsubishi G and J class turbines, Siemens H class turbine, and GE's 7HA.02, are all of the size to build 1000MW+ natural gas power blocks. Keep in mind that for a typical unit of this size, each gas turbine will put out around 300-350MW, and as a rule of thumb, the steam cycle can utilize the waste heat to recover about 50% of the MW of the gas turbines. So for a typical large gas turbine plant in the most-common 2 on 1 configuration, there are 330MW from each of the 2 gas turbines, plus another ~330MW from the steam turbine, for a total of around 1000MW. That's without additional duct firing (burning additional fuel in the waste heat recovery boiler), which most US gas plants utilize since gas is so cheap here.

Make that 240V * 50A = 12kW

I don't know if there is such a thing as 120V only service. The only single phase residential service I've ever encountered is 240/120V split phase. I've seen it from 50-400A. I found this article from FPL that mentions service types (YMMV):

"2. Ampere Rating
a. Residential
The rating of the service entrance equipment shall satisfy the general requirements stated above, the NEC and local building codes. Article
230 of the NEC states that the minimum rating for a one family dwelling with six or more two-wire branch circuits, or an initial computed load of 10 kVA or more is 100 ampere, three-wire. For dwelling units with less load, as computed in accordance with NEC guidelines, the minimum may be 60 ampere, three wire if approved by the inspecting authority. In very special cases where the load is only one or two two-wire branch circuits, the service disconnecting means may have a rating
of no less than 15 amperes or 30 amperes, respectively, if approved by the inspecting authority."

It doesn't explicitly say that the 15 or 30 Amp service is two wire or three, but I doubt anyone would run a two wire (120V only) service.

In Florida since we get nasty storms all of the time the power companies have full time crews that trim trees near power lines. They are going to have to do it anyway when a storm comes and it's easier to do it when the weather is nice for 3/4 of the year than when the storms come in the heat and humidity of the summer. All you have to do is call them up to take a look at a tree near their lines and they will take a look and trim it if needed.

The rest of the country might not get this weather often enough to spend the time to maintain the trees so when a freak storm comes by you not only have had lots of tree growth but it's growth that hasn't been subjected to high winds.

http://www.fpl.com/residential/trees/index.shtml

Nope. Battery has 8Y/100K mile warranty, and full MSRP on a replacement is $2997, discounted, the battery is $2410. check http://www.gmpartsdepartment.com/parts/2012/CHEVROLET/VOLT/?siteid=214533&vehicleid=1501836&section=HYBRID%20COMPONENTS&group=HYBRID%20COMPONENTS&subgroup=BATTERY&component=BATTERY for replacement.

Labor would be about 8hrs, @ $75/hr = $600 labor + $2410 battery + let's add $250 for ancillaries, add tax (6%) call it $3500 in-and-out, out-the-door.

And my electricity costs either $.07305, or $0.0653, depending on time of year. I'm at 7.3cents/kWhr right now. Takes me 3.6-4.8kWhr to get to work, depending on how I drive the Volt. was 4.1kWhr today, to go 16.7mi (2 accidents, stop-and-go traffic, 75min to get 16mi). In my case, Florida Power and Light rates are available at http://www.fpl.com/rates/index.shtml, right side column. "Residential full schedule" outlines the charges, residential summary is where you see what peak and off-peak is, and when summer/winter rates take effect. I think Summer is Apr-Oct.

I think even "Volt Evangelists" will tell you no one car is for everyone - if you do 11mi round-trip daily, it's a waste of money, unless you just want one, or like the "green upside" of driving a Volt. You'd be better served by a Cruze Eco or something else in that class/category.

Here is FPL's page on the Turkey Point reactor: About Turkey Point. Their site also has a News Releases page, which I'll be watching for updates whenever they get their PR department in gear.

Here is FPL's page on the Turkey Point reactor: About Turkey Point. Their site also has a News Releases page, which I'll be watching for updates whenever they get their PR department in gear.

my utility company (FPL) has been doing this for years. It's never been a problem. Everybody I know (we're talking families & grandparents here, not weirdo techies like ourselves) does it and nobody has ever noticed. I would suggest you look into it.

their cost break-even is well within their 20-30 year lifetime. How long this takes depends on the electric rates in your area, of course.

But I agree with a previous poster. Putting these cells into shingles would be a great boon. This would also help out the power company, since the power generation would be a little more distributed. I would assume the transmission loss would be a bit less as well.

Florida Power and Light has hooked up shut-offs to my pool pump and air conditioners, with which they can kill the power for a given number of minutes a day. In return I get a small discount every month.
FPL On Call
So in effect I'm paying for less reliability, and FPL can switch some customers off and escape rolling blackouts. And they didn't need to build two new plants whose only purpose would be to provide for peak usage.

Rick DeBay

See how electricity is made - specifically in pressurized water reactors. This exhibit covers pretty much every aspect of the power generation and transmission business - nice interactive displays and helpful guides and experts to answer questions! Also includes nature trails in some of the southeast's most fragile, preserved, ecosystems. Site below has 360 degree images of all displays and also has contact info and directions. Hutchinson Island, Florida http://www.fpl.com/learning/contents/energy_encoun ter_overview.shtml