| Xcel Systems has installed one of the first utility | | | | use takes away some of the common worries and |
| systems in the United States that uses a giant | | | | problems about that and makes it an even more |
| battery system to store wind power. A series of | | | | viable alternative to other types of energy. |
| sodium sulfur batteries from the Japanese company, | | | | While the company is producing energy from stored |
| NGK Insulators, LTD., is said to create about seven | | | | wind power, the customers that are being served |
| megawatt hours of power. The research in battery | | | | are limited. Right now, those customers are in |
| technology has led to some amazing breakthroughs. | | | | Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, the |
| Xcel systems has been leading the way with wind to | | | | Dakotas, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin. The |
| battery technology. | | | | company itself is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. |
| Twenty batteries can create about one megawatt | | | | Additional sites would be nice, however they are |
| hour of power in almost a flash- which is enough | | | | expensive to say the least with millions of dollars |
| power to run five hundred, average American homes | | | | needed for start up and testing alone. This is in |
| for seven full hours. Adding additional batteries | | | | addition to the other expenses that a project of this |
| coupled with lowered usage by each household could | | | | size and nature would create. |
| mean even more energy creation. | | | | The company is also testing other types of energy |
| The batteries are meant to store wind energy at | | | | including using solar installations to generate hydrogen. |
| night and then contract with the utility companies to | | | | The hydrogen can be burned and turned back into |
| release the stored energy as needed throughout the | | | | electrical energy. Other wind based operations are |
| day. This is a huge leap in the use of wind energy for | | | | also being tested on very small scales as well. Finding |
| a viable alternative energy source, eliminating many | | | | an alternate energy source that is far, reliable and |
| of the major drawbacks to this type of energy. One | | | | affordable for everybody is one of the keys to our |
| of these is the unreliability of the wind itself. You | | | | future and we must all keep an open mind while we |
| cannot always count on the wind to be blowing at | | | | explore all of the various options and opportunities |
| certain times, or not to be blowing when you really | | | | that are presented to us. |
| do not need it as much. Storing the energy for later | | | | |