Key Takeaways:
– Home batteries can’t generate electricity but only store it.
– Increasing electrification in the US, including vehicles and water heating, will spike power demand.
– Decentralizing green energy to homes with storage batteries will not drop the need for new transmission infrastructure.
– Home battery costs are high, due to both production costs and installation.
The Future of Electricity: More Consumption
Electricity usage is growing daily, with more appliances and tools becoming electrified. The U.S. is quickly moving toward electrifying vehicles and both space and water heating appliances. This shift means that electricity consumption will likely double soon. Even though people can get extra electricity from distributed sources like rooftop solar panels, most of it will still come from vast wind and solar power centers that are usually far away from cities.
Admittedly, the thought is that if we store more wind and solar power for later in our homes and communities, we won’t need new transmission lines. However, the reality is a different story. To meet increased power demand, new transmission lines will be necessary, irrespective of the number of home storage batteries installed. Not to mention, local power distribution systems — the poles and wires you see on your streets — will have to be upgraded.
The High Cost of Battery Storage
Even if home batteries were widely available, considerations such as construction and installation costs could potentially make it unattainable for many residential consumers. Let’s take a peek at the numbers to paint a clearer picture.
In the U.S, an average household uses around 10,800 kWh of electricity annually, which turns out to be about 30 kWh daily. With the addition of electrified heat and water facilities, the demand can even increase up to 50%, hiking it to about 60 kWh per day, especially during winter.
It is imagined that households can avoid extended blackouts by using sufficient battery storage to supply power during sunless or non-windy periods. Taking the average U.S. consumption rates into account, meeting the increased demand could imply making and installing enough battery storage units in each household that already has an average load of 30 kWh/day. It’s easier said than done, though.
Why? Let’s consider Tesla’s largest Powerwalls designed for home use. These batteries can only supply a maximum of 11.5 kW power and 13.5 kWh of storage under optimal conditions. Understanding this, you’d require three of these Powerwalls per home. Now, multiply that by the number of existing single-family homes in the U.S, which is roughly 80 million. We would need about 240 million Powerwalls, costing nearly $3 trillion. At Tesla’s production rate of 700,000 units annually, giving each household a Powerwall would take nearly 350 years!
Mineral Requirements for Batteries
Another factor to consider is the minerals necessary to produce these batteries. Mining billions of tons of ores to extract the required lithium, copper, and cobalt, among other metals, poses another challenge that can’t be overlooked.
Theoretically, it would be possible to build an electrical system that balances wind, solar, and battery storage while providing reliable service. Still, practicality poses numerous obstacles. Regardless of the number of storage batteries installed, significant investments would still be needed for new transmission and distribution lines. Moreover, the costs associated with this approach are overwhelming.
Reality Check for Electricity Consumers
While magical thinking around electricity might be tantalizing, it is essential that consumers understand the realities. Our electric grid is complex, and many are too far removed from its complexities, making it easier for people to be led astray by oversimplified solutions like home battery storage.
The electrification of everything, powered predominantly by wind, solar, and batteries, may seem ideal. However, the practical implementation given today’s technology seems impossible. Thus, it’s crucial that electricity consumers seek information from knowledgeable sources to understand why these popular scenarios do not align with current capabilities.