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what’s the source for the $25/kWh claim? that’s about 100x more than I was expecting.
that’s about 100x more than I was expecting.
That’s the construction cost. If the cycle life is 1000, then you would get $0.025/kWh.
It should only get cheaper with time though. How much degradation can you expect with sand. I do wonder what is the ROI on this kind of thing.
Probably that not just any sand will do. Similar with building concrete/cement the sand used is important, even desert countries often have it shipped in because desert sand isnt the right type.
Psssh I know some contractors in Florida that could build these sand batteries for 1/10th the cost. Probably with performance correlating with price too, that’s a bargain
OP why did you add this into your title when the article doesn’t say that anywhere in the text?
Yeah the article doesn’t actually say that at all. That appears to be pulled straight out of OP’s ass.
However, if that’s the installed cost, and per kW, then that’s insanely cheap. Solar where I am is about $2500 per kW capacity installed. $25 per kW would be dirt cheap.
discharged via heat exchangers to warm water for the local district heating network.
It needs certain infrastructure to work.
You could also use it to generate electricity. That’s 20-40% efficient. With negative prices in summer these days that would still be interesting.
Sounds like interesting tech. But as another poster noted, to be useful it needs to be able to deliver the heat to homes, which requires a steam pipe system. Not necessarily a dealbreaker, but definitely a big up front cost that communities would need to consider.
Also, it makes sense that the battery basically just consumes electricity that would otherwise go to waste. But I think it could be an even better system if the sand were heated more directly by the sun for additional heat storage during winter.
