MIT Technology Review is reporting that installing large batteries in New York City requires navigating a notoriously difficult tangle of regulations, making it hard to bring big energy storage projects onto the grid. It said some startups are responding by putting relatively small batteries in unexpected places, from induction stovetops to food carts, helping people directly while cutting pollution or power bills.
The outlet said large, utility-scale battery installations are coming online quickly worldwide, but that some communities, especially dense ones like New York City, have pushed back over concerns about rare but high-profile battery fires. It quoted David Hammer, cofounder of PopWheels, telling a New York Climate Week event on September 24 that the top challenge for large-scale centralized storage providers is that their benefits are abstract while their costs are concrete.
MIT Technology Review said PopWheels built a battery-swapping system for delivery drivers on e-bikes, with about 50 cabinets across New York City and roughly 2,500 batteries in circulation. It said the company recently began supplying batteries to food cart operators, letting them replace gas generators, with about four batteries providing five kilowatt-hours, enough to cover roughly a day's operation for many carts.
The outlet said Copper builds induction stoves with integrated batteries that allow cooking during outages and can help homeowners avoid expensive electrical upgrades. It quoted Copper cofounder and CEO Sam Calisch saying the company sells batteries for cost savings as well as resilience.
MIT Technology Review said Every Electric and David Energy sell plug-in batteries for homes and businesses, with Every's designed to plug into an air-conditioning unit and David Energy focusing on laundromats, parking garages and gyms. It said these smaller or integrated batteries generally avoid grid upgrades and extensive permitting.
The outlet reported that David Energy cofounder and CEO James McGinniss called the shift the biggest thing in the power grid sector in 20 years, and that Calisch said shipping every American stove with a battery would add tens of gigawatts. It said large-scale storage remains necessary to support intermittent renewables and growing electricity demand.
Full Article: How smaller, distributed batteries could help the grid