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Cross-posted from "US power grid added battery equivalent of 20 nuclear reactors in past four years" by @MicroWave@lemmy.world in !news@lemmy.world

Pace of growth helps maintain renewable energy when weather conditions interfere with wind and solar

Faced with worsening climate-driven disasters and an electricity grid increasingly supplied by intermittent renewables, the US is rapidly installing huge batteries that are already starting to help prevent power blackouts.

From barely anything just a few years ago, the US is now adding utility-scale batteries at a dizzying pace, having installed more than 20 gigawatts of battery capacity to the electric grid, with 5GW of this occurring just in the first seven months of this year, according to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA).

This means that battery storage equivalent to the output of 20 nuclear reactors has been bolted on to America’s electric grids in barely four years, with the EIA predicting this capacity could double again to 40GW by 2025 if further planned expansions occur.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/45711203

Solar technology has come a long way since New York inventor Charles Fritts created the first solar cell in 1883.

His device wasn’t very efficient – it was only capable of turning a tiny amount of the sunshine it absorbed into electricity, about 1% to 2%. Today’s solar cells – which are typically silicon-based – can convert an average of around 22% of the sunshine they absorb into power. More efficient solar cells mean each solar panel can generate more electricity, saving on materials and the land needed.

Manufacturing silicon solar cells is also an energy-intensive process. Experts warn that renewable power capacity must triple by 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5°C, and solar is predicted to play a major role, so the industry is racing to increase the efficiency of its technology.

Rooftop photovoltaic solar panels warm up and cool down cities in Nature Cities