US Quickly Adds Storage Centers for Electricity

US Quickly Adds Storage Centers for Electricity

　　U.S. electricity providers are quickly adding batteries to store electricity in large amounts.

　　The batteries are mainly ones called lithium-ion batteries.

　　Increasingly, companies are using these batteries with solar and wind projects. The agencies that run electric grids³, utility companies and developers of renewable energy say combining technologies is necessary to use renewable energy in the future.

　　Batteries to store electricity

　　In the Arizona desert, a Danish company is building a large solar farm that includes batteries that charge when the sun is shining. The batteries are able to supply energy back to the electric grid² when it is not.

　　Some people think combining batteries with green energy will result in a better climate. "Green energy" is a term used to describe ways of creating power that do not appear to cause pollution.

　　"Solar farms only produce when the sun shines, and the turbines only produce when the wind blows," said Orsted chief Mads Nipper. "For us to maximize the availability of the green power, 24-7, we have to store some of it too."

　　Some people think batteries will permit renewables to replace fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal. Batteries can help keep a steady flow of electricity when there is no wind or sun to produce it. For example, when people are sleeping at night and using less electricity, the energy produced from wind can be stored in batteries. Then, the stored energy can be used when demand is high during the day.

　　Juan Mendez of Tempe, Arizona, gets power from local utility Salt River Project (SRP), which is working with Orsted on the Eleven Mile Solar Center. As a state senator, Mendez pushed SRP to move to renewable energy.

　　Mendez thinks the power company is still investing too much in gas and coal plants. A major project is planned for a natural gas plant in Coolidge, Arizona, near the solar center.

　　"This solar-plus-storage is a good step, but SRP needs to do more to provide clean energy and clean up our air and help address climate change," Mendez said.

　　SPR said it is adding more renewable forms of electricity production. The company's board of directors recently promised to add no new carbon to the atmosphere, or to have "zero emissions," by 2050.

　　U.S. efforts to expand batteries

　　The United States is second in electrical storage in the world after China. In 2023, the U.S. added an estimated 7.5 gigawatts of electrical storage capacity. A report from BloombergNEF and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy said that is 62 percent more than in 2022. That amount of electricity could power 750,000 homes for one day. The total amount of electricity storage capacity in the U.S. is enough for 2 million homes for one day, BloombergNEF estimates.

　　California has the most energy storage in the country. It has twice as much as any other state. Residential⁴, commercial and utility-level battery capacity increased by 757 percent there over four years. The California Energy Commission said there is now enough electrical storage capacity to power 6.6 million homes for up to four hours.

　　Texas has the second-most battery storage after California. Last month, Schneider Electric announced it is working with energy company ENGIE North America on solar and battery systems in Texas. The aim is to get closer to the French multinational's 100 percent renewable energy goal in the U.S. and Canada.

　　Hans Royal is Schneider Electric's senior director for renewable energy and carbon advisory⁵. He said the deal with ENGIE, and the necessary $80 million investment, would not have been possible without the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. That was a major climate-related law passed by the U.S. Congress in 2022.

　　Royal is advising other big companies he works with to get into the market for electricity storage.

　　"The industry needs that, the grid needs it," said Royal.

　　The future

　　Back in Arizona, Orsted's Eleven Mile Solar Center has 857,000 solar panels and more than 2,000 cubes that look like large shipping⁶ containers but contain batteries. Orsted also has large solar and storage projects in Texas and Alabama, and in Europe.

　　When the Arizona facility opens this summer, most power from the solar farm will go to Facebook owner Meta's data center in the town of Mesa. Any extra solar power, in addition to the power stored in the batteries, will go to the local utility's customers. The new batteries can ensure power to about 65,000 homes for a few hours of high demand.

　　"What I think is exciting is just how rapidly this market is moving," said Yayoi Sekine, head of energy storage at BloombergNEF.

　　Words in This Story

　　battery – n. a device that stores and supplies electricity

　　grid – n. a network that supplies electricity to a large area

　　utility – n. a service such as a supply of electricity that is provided to the public

　　charge –v. to add more electricity into a batter¹

　　24-7 (twenty-four seven) –adv. taking place all the time

　　turbine – n. an engine that has a part with blades that are caused to spin by wind or air

　　residential –adj. for use in homes and private citizens

　　commercial –adj. related to businesses

　　capacity – n. the amount of something that can be produced or supplied

1 batter   

v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员

参考例句：

• The batter skied to the center fielder.击球手打出一个高飞球到中外野手。
• Put a small quantity of sugar into the batter.在面糊里放少量的糖。

2 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

3 grids   

n.格子( grid的名词复数 )；地图上的坐标方格；（输电线路、天然气管道等的）系统网络；（汽车比赛）赛车起跑线

参考例句：

• Typical framed structures are beams, grids, plane and space frames or trusses. 典型构架结构为梁、格栅、平面的和空间的框架或桁架。 来自辞典例句
• The machines deliver trimmed grids for use or stock. 这种机器铸出修整过的板栅，以供使用或储存。 来自辞典例句

4 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

5 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

6 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。