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How batteries could change our energy future

Businesses around the world are betting big on batter ies for electric cars, and in a roundabout way, this trend could change how electricity is delivered to your home.

Over the past eight years, global battery production ca pacity has grown eight times to supply the expanding mar ket for electric vehicles. New manufacturing plants under construction in the United States, Europe and Asia could increase capacity another five times in the next eight years. As battery production in creases, consumers can expect improved performance and lower prices, says Jan Ahlen, the director of energy solutions for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). The benefit for home electricity consumers is that these better and cheaper batteries can be connected to make large “utility-scale” batteries with multiple appli cations. Here are three ways batteries could change the future of electricity.

Timing for the best price: The cost of the electricity varies with seasons and even the time of day as demand for electricity fluctuates. If your cooperative can buy electricity and store it in a battery when the price is lowest, then draw from the battery when market prices are highest, members may benefit from lower rates.

Helping renewable energy: There’s no solar power at night or wind energy in calm weather. Utility-scale batter ies could change that, storing electricity during peak pro duction, and making it available when needed.

Outage management: Utility-scale batteries are an important part of microgrids, a new concept for handling widespread power outages. Microgrids use independent power sources, like batteries, to keep electricity flowing to highpriority facilities like hospitals, storm shelters and gas stations until service can be restored for the entire community.

“Batteries are becoming better, faster and cheaper,” says Ahlen. He adds that they are a trend that’s “opening up many new opportunities for utilities to help provide more affordable and reliable power for their consumers.” PAUL WESSLUND writes on consumer and cooperative affairs for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the national trade association rep resenting more than 900 local electric cooperatives. AM PM Minor Major Minor Major GONE FISHIN’ The Vektor Fish & Game Forecast provides feeding and migration times. Major periods can bracket the peak by an hour. Minor peaks, ½ hour before and after.

AM PM Minor Major Minor Major MARCH 16 4:16 9:31 — 7:16 17 11:16 4:31 — 8:46 18 10:01 4:46 1:46 9:31 19 10:31 5:01 3:01 10:16 20 10:46 5:16 3:46 10:46 21 11:16 5:31 4:31 11:16 22 11:46 5:46 5:16 11:46 23 — 6:01 12:01 5:46 24 6:16 12:01 6:31 12:31 25 12:31 6:31 7:01 1:01 26 12:46 6:46 7:46 1:16 27 1:16 7:01 8:31 1:46 28 1:46 7:16 9:31 2:31 29 2:01 7:31 10:46 3:01 30 2:31 7:31 — 4:01 31 1:31 7:31 — 5:31 APRIL 1 — 3:01 — 7:01 2 9:31 3:31 12:46 8:31 3 9:46 4:01 2:31 9:31 4 10:16 4:31 3:46 10:16 5 10:46 4:46 4:31 11:01 6 5:16 11:16 5:31 11:46 7 — 5:46 6:16 12:01 8 12:16 6:01 7:16 12:31 9 1:01 6:31 8:01 1:16 10 1:31 7:01 9:01 2:01 11 2:01 7:16 10:16 2:46 12 2:46 7:46 — 3:46 13 12:31 8:01 — 5:01 14 — 2:46 — 6:31 15 — 3:31 — 7:46 16 10:01 3:46 1:31 8:46 Placing hot food in the refrigerator makes the appliance work harder than necessary, using more energy. Allow food to cool down before you place it in the fridge. This 13-megawatt Tesla solar field, which is coupled with a 52-megawatt-hour battery storage system, is owned by Kaua’i Island Utility Co-op and allows the cooperative to store solar power during the day and dispatch it over a four-hour period during the evening when energy demand is high.

Nearly 30,000 Jobs Created

$6 Billion In Capital Investment

$30 Billion In Total Economic Impact

Powered by South Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives.

ONLYON SCLiving.coop

Homemade aioli Aioli is a sauce made with garlic and olive oil that is used widely throughout France and the Mediterranean as a dip and on sandwiches. In this video recipe, Chef Belinda will show you how to make it at home. SCLiving.coop/food/chefbelinda.

HIGHLIGHTS

MARCH 15–APRIL 15

SOUTHERN SOUND SERIES MARCH 21 Balsam Range takes the stage for the second to last of the 2020 Southern Sound Series concerts. The North Carolina quintet has earned many awards for their acoustic sound that toes the line between bluegrass and newgrass, according to Rolling Stone. The show begins at 7:30 p.m., but come early to enjoy food trucks and even more music on the McCelvey Center lawn. Ticket prices for the show range from $20 –45. chmuseums.org/southernsoundseries

It’s a great day for a parade South Carolina Living and the City of West Columbia are celebrating the 3rd Annual Kinetic Derby Day festival (April 25) featuring whimsical human-powered floats in a Kinetic Sculpture Parade and an old-fashioned Soap Box Derby. Sign up today for our March Reader Reply Travel Sweepstakes and your chance to win a $100 Visa gift card and a Kinetic Derby Day weekend getaway package. For details and to register online, visit SCLiving.coop/reader-reply. One lucky winner will be drawn at random from all entries received by March 31.

How does your garden grow? Pretty darn well if you follow SC Gardener columnist L.A. Jackson’s advice for gardening in small spaces. He also offers tips on when and how to pick your favorite veggies for peak flavor and freshness at SCLiving.coop/gardener.

LOWCOUNTRY CAJUN FESTIVAL APRIL 5 Follow the lively sounds of zydeco music to Charleston County’s James Island Park for the 2020 Lowcountry Cajun Festival and enjoy a taste of Cajun and Creole culture. In addition to the crawfish-eating contest (where else can you see someone eat 37 crawfish in 30 seconds?), guests can enjoy a spread of authentic jambalaya, alligator, etouffee, and, of course, crawfish. Admission to the festival is $15 per person for those over the age of 12. (843) 795-4386; ccprc.com/137/lowcountry-cajun-festival

GET MORE For more happenings, turn to our Calendar on Page 36, and see expanded festivals and events coverage on SCLiving.coop.

CAROLINA CUP MARCH 28 South Carolinians know how to strut their stuff, and at no time is that more evident than at the Carolina Cup Steeplechase, where the spectators are almost as much fun to watch as the horses. This daylong affair culminates with the races, but not before attendees enjoy tailgating and showing off colorful spring fashions. (803) 432-6513; carolina-cup.org

A NIGHT OF PROMISE APRIL 2 A Night of Promise is also a night of hope for homeless children and their families in Beaufort County. The event—which features a buffet dinner, beer and wine bar, plus live and silent auctions— raises funds to support Beaufort County’s Family Promise shelter program. Proceeds from each $100 ticket will go to renovation of the organization’s day center which provides space for teenagers in the shelter program to learn and congregate together. The nonprofit has assisted more than 500 individuals in the past 12 years. (843) 815-4211; familypromisebeaufortcounty.org/event/a-night-of-promise

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