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Can Tesla's Batteries Power Puerto Rico? (electrek.co)
An anonymous reader quotes Electrek:
Almost 1 million ratepayers of the Puerto Rican Electric Power Authority on the island of Puerto Rico were reportedly without power Wednesday during an island-wide blackout. But a few hundred locations with Tesla Energy storage systems were able to keep the lights on, according to CEO Elon Musk... Some of those locations include very critical services. For example, Tesla deployed a series of Powerpack systems on the Puerto Rican islands of Vieques and Culebra for a sanitary sewer treatment plant, the Arcadia water pumping station, the Ciudad Dorada elderly community, the Susan Centeno hospital, and the Boys and Girls Club of Vieques. Furthermore, the automaker's energy division also deployed a solar+battery system at a hospital in Puerto Rico...
It was also reported that the Puerto Rican government was considering Tesla's plan for a series of microgrids to help bring back power on a larger scale. The government has confirmed that they "presented several projects in remote areas that would allow entire communities to be more independent" and they also "presented a proposal to the Authority for Public-Private Partnerships for the deployment of a large-scale battery system designed to help stabilize the entire Puerto Rico electricity network."
The proposal, involving de-centralized local solar farms, "should prove more resilient to natural disaster," Electrek reported earlier, adding " and of course, it would be a lot cleaner than their currently mostly fossil fuel-based power generation." Already Tesla batteries are "live and delivering power" at 662 locations, Elon Musk tweeted Wednesday.
Meanwhile, CNN reports that one Puerto Rico resident spent three weeks building his own solar power system using $7,500 in parts -- which will ultimately prove cheaper than the $350 a month he was spending to run a gas generator (and waiting as long as six hours in the long gas lines).
They're not revealing his name "because he's concerned someone may try to steal his new system."
It was also reported that the Puerto Rican government was considering Tesla's plan for a series of microgrids to help bring back power on a larger scale. The government has confirmed that they "presented several projects in remote areas that would allow entire communities to be more independent" and they also "presented a proposal to the Authority for Public-Private Partnerships for the deployment of a large-scale battery system designed to help stabilize the entire Puerto Rico electricity network."
The proposal, involving de-centralized local solar farms, "should prove more resilient to natural disaster," Electrek reported earlier, adding " and of course, it would be a lot cleaner than their currently mostly fossil fuel-based power generation." Already Tesla batteries are "live and delivering power" at 662 locations, Elon Musk tweeted Wednesday.
Meanwhile, CNN reports that one Puerto Rico resident spent three weeks building his own solar power system using $7,500 in parts -- which will ultimately prove cheaper than the $350 a month he was spending to run a gas generator (and waiting as long as six hours in the long gas lines).
They're not revealing his name "because he's concerned someone may try to steal his new system."
Please tell us how you would do it for less -- paying for kit at Puerto Rican prices.
Of course they can't power Puerto Rico because they require generation in order to be charged. What they can do though is increase the resilience of the power system by making the frequent power disruptions less of a problem and reduce the cost of power by smoothing out the intermittent nature of less expensive solar and wind systems. Right now PR is heavily dependent on diesel and fuel oil power generation which is one of most expensive ways to generate electricity.
sort of. Didn't realize that Tesla was already on the job there. I particularly like the plan to build microgrids. It would be good if some other companies got involved though.
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
Now try the same statement, but substitute âoePuerto Ricansâ for âoeTexansâ, âoeFloridiansâ, or âoeianâ(TM)sâ
This makes zero sense. The government of Puerto Rico is looking for a solution to the power problem, so they are looking after themselves.
Besides, I'm pretty sure that they have learned that they cannot expect anything good from mainland USA a long time ago.
They're not revealing his name "because he's concerned someone may try to steal his new system."
This is a common problem in the third world. Doesn't matter how much infrastructure one puts up. It's one's capacity to keep people from stealing it, that's important.
I've been off-grid for a few years now... A $5000(~1800W panels are now half the cost) system. Meets my power needs except for being in Canukistan, my heat. I have fridge/freezer/40" tv, computer/router/security system(24/7), lights,washer, microwave, electric pressure cooker, window AC unit, power tools, yada yada..
It meets the basic needs, only.. I have a really crappy battery; $1500 for a new one(only get flooded, leadacid industrial 2500+-cycle life; by far best bang for buck)... But it's been fine for years, why? because of a change in attitude about using power.
I can run my basics for 4-5 days off the battery and overcast alone(2KWh/day avg). But heres what I do.. When I want to use an electric chainsaw or other heavy tool, what do I do? I wait for the sun to come out! Nothing needs to be done immediately. For virtually everyone with their own roof/unobstructed sun, we could be off-grid now, solar now.. It's the regulations and forced 'technical workers and inspectors required in most states that drive the cost of solar through the roof.
As usual, the government makes everything worse.
Ever try keeping a gas turbine plant running? Not so simple. Or cheap. Solar cell / battery plants are quite a bit easier to maintain than 30 foot tall jet engines.
Both do require access to high tech manufacturing and support but especially for a small island, solar / wind / battery combos seem to make quite a bit more sense than fossil fuel thermal plants. Right now, solar / wind / battery systems are equal priced to cheaper than thermal plants at the small sizes we're talking about in PV.
One of the big issues with power in PV is that the generation facilities are sited on the other side of the island from most of the the users. That requires expensive and fragile transmission lines (that still haven't been completely fixed). Small scale solar / wind /battery sited where the demand is makes a whole lot more sense than what they are doing now.
Putting a bunch of panels and batteries in a local field is quite a bit easier for locals to agree to than a brand new steam belching, noisy thermal plant.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
'The proposal, involving de-centralized local solar farms, "should prove more resilient to natural disaster," '
Not one bit!
Yeah I can see that working out well. Oh that was decentralized solar farm ? Toss in transmission lines and it looks that much better.
Puerto Rico is a perfect argument for small nukes 50 MW on sealed reactor that only needs to be refueled every few years perfect.
Please tell us how you would do it for less -- paying for kit at Puerto Rican prices.
Rebuild the existing infrastructure and use as much buried distribution as possible/affordable. There is no perfect solution, but when you factor in cost and time to recover there is little choice.
Nice how they slipped in the "Public-Private Partnerships" bit so nobody seems to be calling attention to it. Where I come from (UK), they're used to extract/extort tax-payer money out of the public and funnel it into private pockets. Sounds like Puerto Rico is rapidly turning into Puerto Pobre and Bancos Ricos.
Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
I deal with UPS's as well. Not really the same thing as the utility batteries. UPS's have not changed much in decades. Most of them still use lead acid batteries. They don't last very long even when maintained. When looking at the cost, size, weight, maintenance and reliability I have to question why we keep doing it the same way with UPS's.
Ever try keeping a gas turbine plant running? Not so simple. Or cheap. Solar cell / battery plants are quite a bit easier to maintain than 30 foot tall jet engines.
30ft tall jet engines? I think you've never tried to do maintenance on a solar system that big either. You're talking about two different levels of scale. Little microturbines on the other hand seem to require a similar level of maintenance as a typical house gas hot water system.
You fucking kidding me? The first thing any of those red state governors do is declare state of emergency to unlock federal funds.
Dipshit.
The electricity consumption of the average Canadian household is 11,879 kWh/yr, or 32.5 kWh/day. You're able to live off the grid with your system because your electricity consumption is 1/16th that of the average Canadian home. Your electricity consumption is 21% the world's household average, and 40% the household average for the thriftiest OECD member nation (Mexico, which has a 46% poverty rate).
Any typical household in the developed world would have to make serious and drastic compromises to their lifestyle to live off a system such as yours.
The only 'microtubines' I'm familiar with are model airplane/helicopter turbines. They are not cheap or low maintenance.
Got a cite?
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
I'm pretty sure it worked out exactly like everybody expected. They got stiffed on payment, exactly like all the other companies that didn't want the job knew would happen.
Lucky for them they got out as early as they did.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Making things that fly, compared to similar things that don't, means they're more fragile because they have to be lighter and more complicated because they need to be more efficient? I can't believe nobody spotted that.
Man, it's a pity there isn't a Nobel prize for engineering.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Are your UPS batteries lead-acid? If so they take tons more maintenance than Li-ion batteries. I don't think the situation is comparable.
That depends on your nation AC. Having and paying for a grid connection is what makes a dwelling legal in some nations.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
would you use battery technology adapted for transportation (high specific energy/power) for a stationary application? Flow batteries have been around for decades for just this sort of application. They load follow well, too. Not as sexy as Elon Musk, though, I guess. (Yuck!) He probably can deliver faster though, and might subsidize it a bit for the PR.
Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do. (Isaac Asimov)
At the same time, a 1.8kW solar install is on the small side. I have a 7.8kW solar system (30x 260W panels) and my house footprint is 1000 sqft, so not huge. That is enough to generate 30-40kWh/day in the summer. The biggest problem in Canada is that I get zero power from my panels for a couple of months in the winter because of snow cover. Being completely off-grid is not possible in my case.
My wife and I live with a wasteful 7.2 kWh/day on average over an entire year in Oregon. I'm not sure he claimed 2 kWh/day as usage, the sentence seems to be formed to indicate that is how much he gets on overcast days and that he could last 4-5 days from the battery with that minimal overcast generation.
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." [Thomas Jefferson]
The average house uses under 900kWh in an entire month. How many coin mining farms do you have for that AC to cool?
I still don't have a cite for the existence of such micro CTs.
I don't think they exist. Closest is aircraft APUs, but as you indirectly get at, those are uneconomical on the ground, where their light weight isn't an advantage
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
I think he's talking about these:
https://www.capstoneturbine.co...
Thanks.
On point. Those clearly don't: 'require a similar level of maintenance as a typical house gas hot water system' Which was the original claim.
Also on point: 26% thermal efficiency. Useless unless you need the waste heat for a large building.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'