As promised, here’s a more detailed look at VRB Power’s deal with Irish wind developer Tapbury. Basically, the analysts I spoke with believe this is a landmark deal that’s bound to be replicated throughout Ireland and the rest of Europe, eventually making its way to North America as the economics improve. It’s an exciting development, but it all assumes that VRB’s flow battery system delivers as promised.
Tyler Hamilton is editor-in-chief of Corporate Knights magazine and a business columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the clean technology and green energy market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper.
Check out my new book Mad Like Tesla: Underdog Inventors and Their Relentless Pursuit of Clean Energy, published by ECW Press.
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September 4th, 2006 at 7:39 pm
Good article.
There is one major feature that you missed in the description which sets the VRB (and other variations on the theme) miles (kilometres ?) ahead of all other energy storage – instant reversibility.
Even before the eletrolyte pump can change flow direction, the liquid in the cells can change state and switch from charge to discharge. This means that, with some clever engineering, many elements of a traditional wind-grid system can be modified or eliminated with the jouyful bonus of significant cost reduction for an entire system.
Ontario does not need a demonstration, it needs a 500MWhre installation in the docklands of Toronto!
September 4th, 2006 at 8:15 pm
Another great article. Just wondering how this battery system compares to the Zebra battery that Halton Hills Hydro is already using for load shifting. Also it’s kind of funny how each country never chooses something from their own backyard.
September 4th, 2006 at 8:17 pm
Opps forgot the link: http://tyler.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2006/7/11/2102930.html
September 5th, 2006 at 8:52 pm
I would like to recommend a site explaining the state of energy storage. This is an industry group providing both good technical and balanced information.
http://www.electricitystorage.org
Please look at the technical analysis/comparisons.