Electrify America (VW's EA) to Install Tesla Powerpacks at High Power Stations

[SageBrush]

https://electrek.co/2019/02/04/tesla-electrify-america-powerpacks-charging-stations/

This is awesome news. It seems an obvious way to support increased power without exorbitant demand charges.

 

[OPRCE]

Look, a flying pig !!

 

[mpmeyer]

Next step, add a tesla plug to those chargers,

 

[darxsys]

I am impressed. Great stuff!

 

[ChicagolandMX]

That's impressive tech, to be able to hold 350 kW in 210 kW of battery. Now I know why Tesla isn't going bigger than 100kW in the S&X, they can just stuff another 50kW on demand.

 

[BestHand]

I do not know how 350KWH will make a difference. It is just 3-4 cars to charge.So, if station is really busy it may help only for short period of time.

 

[mociaf9]

That's impressive tech, to be able to hold 350 kW in 210 kW of battery. Now I know why Tesla isn't going bigger than 100kW in the S&X, they can just stuff another 50kW on demand.

Battery is used to shave the peak demand, not replace the total grid draw during charging. So, imagine a 4-station EA location where each has a car simultaneously charging at 150 kW. Instead of drawing 600 kW from the grid, they'll use the battery to lower the grid draw to ~400 kW, with the other 200 kW coming from the battery. etc. This is really useful if it will enable them to stay under the kW threshold level which would trigger pushing them up into the next tier of demand charges.

 

[SSedan]

I do not know how 350KWH will make a difference. It is just 3-4 cars to charge.So, if station is really busy it may help only for short period of time.

Yeah because we all go from empty to full at every supercharger stop...........


This can also serve to keep the grid demand going at a stable level as vehicle charge rates drop and cars leave and come in. Tortise and the hare, slow and steady draw from the grid not big spikes and valleys as cars come and go.

 

[Rocky_H]

Battery is used to shave the peak demand, not replace the total grid draw during charging. So, imagine a 4-station EA location where each has a car simultaneously charging at 150 kW. Instead of drawing 600 kW from the grid, they'll use the battery to lower the grid draw to ~400 kW, with the other 200 kW coming from the battery. etc. This is really useful if it will enable them to stay under the kW threshold level which would trigger pushing them up into the next tier of demand charges.

Yep, larger industrial sites have the most outrageous costs from the power company in those demand charges of the maximum power draw they need, because that's what the utility needs to build in the really expensive infrastructure side, but then their per kWh unit costs are pretty low.
There is an industry that doesn't get a lot of press coverage that is going toward solar and battery storage for doing this peak shaving routine--beer breweries. Kona and Sierra Nevada are craft breweries that you may have heard of who have done really large battery installations with solar because they need to heat up huge vats of water every morning, and they can cut their demand charges by buffering overnight energy in large battery banks for that.
Kona Brewing Company to Produce Sun-Powered Beer Through Solar-Plus-Battery Storage Project with EnSync Energy and Holu Energy
Brewing company integrates Tesla Powerpack and solar with beer-making

 

[SageBrush]

This is really useful if it will enable them to stay under the kW threshold level which would trigger pushing them up into the next tier of demand charges.

Demand charges do not work the way you think they do. But your conclusion is correct, the battery is there to save on, but probably not eliminate completely, demand charges.

An interesting detail about demand charges that has not reached public discussion yet is that a battery does not save the utility infrastructure costs that the demand charges are meant to recoup. As batteries become more common, this will be the next *huge* fight. I presume the utilities will start demanding up-front payment for the infrastructure.

 

[SageBrush]

I do not know how 350KWH will make a difference. It is just 3-4 cars to charge.So, if station is really busy it may help only for short period of time.

Busy stations are not the natural target of battery installations. The ideal targets are narrow peaks; the more infrequent per month, the smarter the investment.

 

[csanders90D]

That's impressive tech, to be able to hold 350 kW in 210 kW of battery. Now I know why Tesla isn't going bigger than 100kW in the S&X, they can just stuff another 50kW on demand.

And that's why the difference between kW and kWh is important. The article said: "a 210 kW battery system with roughly 350 kWh of capacity." 350 kWh is how much the battery holds and 210 kW is how fast it can pump out that power. There is nothing strange about having a larger storage capacity than your discharge rate.