Can Li-Ion Battery Technology Match the Hoover Dam “Battery”?

Today, a couple of the largest lithium ion battery installations in the world include Tesla’s $50 million, 100 MW / 129 MWh storage system at Hornsdale wind farm in South Australia, and Fluence’s 100 MW / 400 MWh storage system at the Alamitos power center in Long Beach, California. Compare these installations with the Hoover Dam’s giant generating capacity of over 2,000 MW!

The New York Times reported on July 24, 2008, that Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is proposing to build a $3 billion pipeline and a pump station powered by solar and wind energy to add “pumped hydro storage” capability to the Hoover Dam. The pump station, downstream, would help regulate the water flow through the dam’s generators, sending water back to the top to help manage electricity at times of peak demand.

Granted that the Bath County Pumped Storage Station in Virginia, USA with a generation capacity of over 3,000 MW is still bigger, it lacks the widespread public familiarity that Hoover dam enjoys. In any case, if the pumped storage facility is built, the 726 feet tall dam will tower over all the lithium ion battery storage installations for years to come. No pun intended!