Minnesota Wind Farm To Experiment With Battery Storage
By Michael d'Estries
March 3, 2008 – 2:13 pm

Back in September, I mentioned a giant battery being developed in the UK to help store energy during times when a wind farm’s output decreases due to calm winds. One of the critiques of wind energy generation is that it can be fairly fickle. Developers therefore, are looking to alternatives to capture energy during peak hours and release it when needed. Now it appears a wind farm in southwest Minnesota will be one of the first to experiment with this idea; employing the use of two 80-ton tractor-trailer size batteries to provide power to over 500 homes for seven hours when the wind isn’t blowing. From the article,

“Xcel also will see whether it is profitable to store wind-generated electricity at night, when power is cheaper, and release it to the grid during peak hours when it is needed more and is more costly. ‘If it turns out these batteries can store enough electricity to use the electricity on the peaks when the demand is highest and the wind is not blowing, that really is a game changer. If they can do that cost effectively, it could spur the development of renewable energy even beyond the 20 to 25 percent most people now think we could integrate onto the grid,’ says Rolf Nordstrom, executive director of the Great Plains Institute.”

Beyond massive batteries, there are also plans in motion to store wind energy underground in massive chambers. When the grid demands more, these chambers would release their pressurized air into a turbine which would then generate electricity. Iowa is looking to make this a reality by 2011. Obviously, this is highly dependent on geography to even be practical; which might make giant battery trailers that much more effective for wind farms all around the world. Minnesota hopes to start the ball rolling this coming October.