which is massive, but spins at only 12000 RPM from steel and standard bearings. Such a wheel costs just a few hundred dollars. He says it has a life of 10000 cycles, 10x longer than a deep cycle battery, [communication, Tom Kasmer, inventor]. At that point, flywheels will begin to replace batteries everywhere. Renewable energy companies and electric vehicle companies are very interested in flywheels. The research phase of flywheel development is largely completed and commercialization is in progress. How quickly flywheels begin to be mass produced will depend on how much companies push for them. A demo project for flywheel storage is already in progress in South Africa. The time frame for full up production is 2 to 5 years, depending upon demand. The Grid The Grid, once maligned by renewable energy people, is now seen in a new light, as a means of “storing” renewable energy from various sources. The grid is the network of wires and power plants crisscrossing the developed world. Keep in mind that the developing world does not have a grid yet. Grids in the USA are usually controlled from sophisticated energy control centers. At these centers, electricity is routed from power plants to customers 24 hr. per day. The NYSEG Energy Control Center This center controls power distribution for about 1/3 of New York State. Three operators can run all distribution using a “grid navigating” control system, which is somewhat akin to the “web” on the Internet, in that it is a graphical system with hyper-links. This system enables operators to “surf the grid” or go directly to an address to check for problems. The “nodes” on the grid are power plants, substations and switch yards. At each node, operators can reset relays, read out voltages and currents, read the power available, check on demand, etc. There are many other indicators to tell operators when there is a problem and what it is. The routine task of the operators is to see to it that the supply of power to each area meets the demand. They also request more or less output from each power plant, depending on demand. They can choose to purchase power from other sources, if they need it. Energy control centers of various utilities all know about each other, and can transfer power over wide areas of the country. The energy control centers are like giant “servers” and each one knows the address of all the others. Power is bought and sold by people, though, over the phone (between different utilities). The buyer must constantly study the prices offered by each utility and get the lowest price when buying outside power is necessary. The grid does have limitations. It is generally too expensive or impossible to bring power in from distance sources. For example, New York City’s Con-Edison would like to buy power from Hydro-Quebec, but this is not possible without a high voltage transmission line from Canada to NYC. That’s because the volume of power needed cannot be efficiently transmitted over the existing smaller lines and all the intervening substations. Installing new lines is becoming more problematic than installing new railroad tracks. People do not want large power lines near their neighborhoods and purchase of all the land needed for right-a-ways is very expensive. It can take 7 years to get through all the land and approvals procedures and get a line installed. A local area renewable energy (RE) grid might include solar electric systems on houses, commercial building and as small power plants, wind generators and hydro-electric power plants. Each power generator would dump power to the grid whenever there was wind or sun. Small hydro-plants are seasonal, rather than intermittent on a daily basis. Power would be delivered where it is needed. As more
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