The US power storage business has been driving the coattails of wind and solar energy, and issues are about to get attention-grabbing. Pumped hydropower continues to dominate the storage discipline by a large margin, however lithium-ion batteries are making inroads and new applied sciences are additionally creeping in. Oddly sufficient, Texas is entrance and middle within the new exercise regardless of persistent makes an attempt by Republican workplace holders within the state to tilt the scales in favor of fossil power.

Jupiter Energy: The Sleeping Vitality Storage Large Awakens

The power storage agency Jupiter Energy is new to the CleanTechnica radar, however it’s a power to be reckoned with. When it comes to Texas power coverage, Jupiter — which has headquarters in Texas and Illinois — stands proud due to its “highly effective accomplice” relationship with the main international funding agency BlackRock, which has change into a selected goal of a multi-state, organized push towards renewable power investing.

Texas officers are amongst these choosing on BlackRock for its promotion of  decarbonization. Nonetheless, renewable power funding is occurring proper in their very own backyards.

“Backed by BlackRock’s Diversified Infrastructure enterprise, Jupiter Energy has a strategic and established portfolio of utility-scale power storage tasks working or in development within the U.S., with a number one pipeline of over 11,000 MW in energetic improvement,” Jupiter explains.

That massive portfolio now features a new partnership with the Swiss startup Vitality Vault for a 100 megawatt battery-type storage system at a Jupiter Energy facility situated close to Fort Stockton, Texas, in addition to one other 10-megawatt system in California.

The cope with Vitality Vault additionally caught our eye as a result of the Swiss firm’s lead product is a cutting-edge, bizarre-looking, gravity-based power storage know-how. Nonetheless, earlier than you get excited, don’t get too excited. Jupiter makes a speciality of battery power storage programs. The deal entails battery-type power storage and a source-agnostic power administration platform that Vitality Vault launched final yr, not the gravity system.

Nonetheless, a hookup between the 2 corporations raises the likelihood {that a} gravity-based system could possibly be within the works, so maintain your eyes open for that.

Repurposing Previous Wells For New Storage

If Vitality Vault’s gravity-base system ever will get to Texas, it might have already got some firm. The US startup Renewell, which has workplaces in Texas and California, is advertising and marketing a gravity-based power storage system that may be retrofitted into idle oil and fuel wells.

Referred to as Gravity Nicely, the system doubles as an deserted well-sealing and monitoring operation.

“In a great world idle wells wouldn’t be plugged and deserted, they might be plugged and monitored,” explains Renewell. “Not solely is a Gravity Nicely plugged above the depleted reservoir, there may be additionally a set of sensors on every nicely making certain an unprecedented stage of perception into its standing.”

Along with repurposing previous wells as power storage websites, the Gravity Nicely system repurposes oilfield tubing to manufacture the lengthy, cylindrical weights that kind the center of the system.

“Inactive oil and fuel wells are a great host for gravity power storage attributable to their depth, costly plug and abandonment (P&A), pre-existing electrical infrastructure, and present emissions,” the corporate explains.

“As much as 40% of idle wells have been discovered to leak methane. Sealing the nicely throughout set up stops these emissions, making a Gravity Nicely the one power storage know-how with straight net-negative lifecycle GHG emissions,” they add.

California seems to first in line for commercialization of the brand new know-how. The startup beforehand examined a Gravity Nicely prototype in Texas again in 2021, and the existence of a Texas workplace means that the Lone Star State could possibly be subsequent.

Air Batteries Are Truly A Factor

Compressed air know-how is one other power storage system that has crossed the CleanTechnica radar, and Texas is within the working. Again in 2017, we took notice of the Texas startup Apex-CAES when it introduced that it might deliver compressed air storage again to the US after a 40-year drought. The corporate is at the moment engaged on a 317-megawatt facility in Anderson County.

Extra not too long ago, alternatives for compressed air improvement in Texas have caught the attention of the fast-growing Irish firm Corre Vitality.

Corre actually doesn’t appear delay by the anti-ESG (atmosphere, social, governance) rhetoric emanating from Texas officers. In July, the corporate introduced plans to amass a 280-megawatt compressed air challenge in West Texas, calling it their first “strategic entry into high-growth US market with its supportive regulatory atmosphere.”

The deal hooks Corre up with the Texas-based power storage agency Contour Vitality, which can proceed to work on the challenge till completion.

As for that factor a few “supportive regulatory atmosphere,” that’s not precisely a ringing endorsement of Texas power coverage. It’s extra of a shoutout to Democratic lawmakers in Washington, DC, who handed the 2022 Inflation Discount Act with precisely zero help from Republican representatives in Congress.

“The Texas challenge is supported by a optimistic financial atmosphere, together with the Inflation Discount Act and prolonged Funding Tax Credit score provided by the US authorities, representing a beautiful entry level into the US marketplace for Corre Vitality,” the corporate explains.

Inexperienced Hydrogen Vitality Storage, Of Course

Contour Vitality makes a speciality of compressed air programs that contain heating the air earlier than passing it by means of a turbine to generate electrical energy. The heating a part of the equation sometimes entails pure fuel, so the system relies upon partly on fossil power. Nonetheless, Contour factors out that the air-plus-gas combo entails much less greenhouse fuel emissions than gas-only generators.

Contour means that hydrogen may be used for heating, and that brings up the position of Texas within the inexperienced hydrogen market. Inexperienced hydrogen capabilities as a renewable power storage platform when produced from water with electrolysis programs powered by wind, photo voltaic, and different renewables (see extra CleanTechnica protection right here).

Inexperienced hydrogen tasks have been popping up all around the US and elsewhere, however since every part is larger in Texas, it’s no shock to see a supersized inexperienced hydrogen facility heading to Duval County, benefiting from storage capability within the Piedras Pintas Salt Dome.

The challenge, dubbed Hydrogen Metropolis, comes beneath the umbrella of the Texas-based agency Inexperienced Hydrogen Worldwide.

“Hydrogen Metropolis, Texas will likely be an built-in inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing, storage, and transport hub rising to 60GW in measurement and producing over 3 billion kilograms of inexperienced hydrogen per yr,” GHI enthuses. “The challenge will likely be powered by 60GW of behind the meter photo voltaic and wind energy with extra renewable power drawn from the ERCOT grid in periods of low costs.”

“Entry to salt storage is vital to the scaling-up of inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing because it permits for max utilization of electrolysers and serves as a buffer between variable wind and photo voltaic manufacturing and last supply of inexperienced hydrogen to clients,” they add.

There’s a lot extra the place that got here from. Researchers on the College of Texas have already begun to make a broad case for deploying Texas’s salt cavern assets for inexperienced hydrogen storage, geothermal tasks, and different clear applied sciences.

For extra (far more) CleanTechnica protection of the goings-on in Texas, go right here.

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