California plans to get 33 percent of its electricity from wind and solar power and other renewables by 2020. But that will only work if the state can economically store some of the energy for release on cloudy, windless days.
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| PG&E storage batteries near Vacaville, northern California (Courtesy Richard Harris / NPR) |
Giant batteries are coming to a power grid near you. In fact, they're already starting to appear on the grid in California.
That's because California is planning to rely increasingly on power supplies that aren't necessarily available every minute of every day. The state plans to get one-third of its electricity from wind and solar energy and other renewables by 2020.
Utilities in the state are trying to figure out how they can cope with that uncertain power supply. Batteries aren't a panacea, but they could help.
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