The New Normal for the Grid: Batteries

<p>In nearly every corner of the country, energy storage projects are finding their way onto the grid — they’re getting bigger, cheaper, more diverse, and even a little bit weirder.&nbsp;</p><p>Most of all, they’re just becoming normal.</p><p>This week, we’re talking about the new normal for power operations. It includes a lot of batteries. And maybe some air tanks, water pumps and cranes too.</p><p>GTM Staff Writer Julian Spector joins us as a guest co-host to round up the most topical projects and tell us where the storage market is headed.</p><p>Then we’ll look at a novel approach to long-duration storage: a gravity-based system from Energy Vault that just got a major injection of Japanese venture dollars. How skeptical should we be?</p><p>And finally, we’ll look at all the other alternatives to lithium-ion that are vying for traction in the market. Will pumped hydro see a revival? Can flow batteries finally prove themselves?</p><p>Read Julian Spector’s <a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/authors/julian-spector" target="_blank">reporting here</a>. And sign up for the GTM <a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/newsletters" target="_blank">newsletter here</a>.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Support for this podcast is brought to you by&nbsp;</em><a href="https://en.sungrowpower.com/" target="_blank"><em>Sungrow</em></a><em>. With the world’s most powerful 250-kilowatt, 1,500-volt string inverter, Sungrow is providing disruptive technology for utility-scale projects.</em></p><p><em>Subscribe to&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/podcast/the-energy-gang" target="_blank">The Energy Gang</a><em>&nbsp;podcast via&nbsp;</em><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-energy-gang/id663379413?mt=2" target="_blank"><em>Apple Podcasts</em></a><em>,&nbsp;</em><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0GT5BuD33AiPnqOzQE7YAE" target="_blank"><em>Spotify</em></a><em>,&nbsp;</em><a href="https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9yc3MuYXJ0MTkuY29tL3RoZS1lbmVyZ3ktZ2FuZw%3D%3D" target="_blank"><em>Google Pod