Batteries bearing on coal consumption is complex, according to scientists at Rochester Institute of Technology. Greentech Media reports they have confirmed more batteries may not reduce carbon on the grid in the short run. We thought their influence on coal consumption was sufficiently important to investigate thoroughly.
A High Level Summary of Batteries Bearing on Coal
The Rochester finding is logical once we understand it. Their research centered on batteries bearing on coal consumption on the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) grid.
This utility services a north to south strip including parts of Canada, the Midwest United States, and much of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
Coal is a major contributor to the MISO grid. However, its contribution slid from 70% to 60% in the past year, following gas and nuclear ramping to close to 20% each. A small amount of hydro and a fraction of wind complete the mix. Hence, relatively low-polluting natural gas forms the core of its peaking strategy.
How Having More Batteries Upsets the MISO Balance
Coal power station generation steps up in several hundred megawatt unit notches. Once a coal unit commissions, it makes sense to run it at full capacity to harvest economies of scale.
Each time electricity consumption for battery charging reaches a new threshold, another coal unit comes online. Then the gas peaking turbines fall silent. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s carbon footprint grows. Current low natural gas prices are keeping solar and wind power at bay in MISO region.
That said, batteries and renewables have achieved significant successes in Arizona and Colorado. “With current low natural-gas prices, adding storage slightly reduces carbon emissions in New York, while increasing them in the Midcontinent ISO,” the Rochester Institute of Technology study confirms. However, they believe batteries bearing on coal will turn the other way around eventually, but only when solar and wind contribute 35% to the generation mix.
Related
Batteries and Solar Beat Gas in Arizona
Renewables Cheaper Than Coal in Colorado
Preview Image: MISO Grid
