California Flats is a 2900 acre plot of land in central California that’s covered in solar panels. The extra energy generated from all that solar flows straight into batteries right on site.
Hearst Corporation, California Flats Solar-plus-Storage Project
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Hearst Corporation, California Flats Solar-plus-Storage Project
California Flats is a 2900 acre plot of land in central California that’s covered in solar panels. The extra energy generated from all that solar flows straight into batteries right on site.
Hearst Corporation, California Flats Solar-plus-Storage Project
Batteries are everywhere. They’re in our phones, our remote controls, smart-watches, electric cars and so much more. They could also be the solution to a problem that renewable energy companies have faced for years: How to store the mass amounts of energy they produce for later use.
Renewable energy has historically been at the whim of the weather. Solar power relies on sun exposure, and wind power requires the wind to blow. Ultimately, they’re somewhat ephemeral. But what if companies could tap into all that energy they’re harnessing whenever they need it?
Enter batteries.
In California, there’s now enough grid-scale battery storage to power millions of homes for a few hours. Battery power is often the second largest source of energy on a given day in the state. So, we’re digging into the fast-growing technology with The Indicator from Planet Money producer Cooper Katz McKim, who developed a three-part series on the technology.
Listen to the three-part battery series.
Have questions about the future of energy? Contact us at [email protected].
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This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson, edited by Rebecca Ramirez and fact checked by Tyler Jones. The audio engineer was Kwesi Lee.
