36 JUNE 2025 WorldWide Drilling Resource® They’re Good, but not that Good by Britt Storkson Owner, P2FlowLLC It seems a day doesn’t go by that someone doesn’t enthusiastically praise the virtues of “Green Energy” in general, and energy storage batteries in particular. All sorts of energy generation schemes using batteries have been floated . . . from mounting turbines and generators on water pipes to using solarpowered water pumps to move water up to an elevated pond during the day and “reclaiming” that energy from falling water for use at night. The number of the proposals and their variants could easily fill a book. The reason batteries are needed is because almost all of the power output generated from these various schemes is inconsistent and most electrically driven appliances need a constant voltage range to operate properly. Storing direct current (DC) in a battery and then converting it into alternating current (AC) at a suitable voltage is one way to ensure the equipment connected to it works properly and reliably. What is possible isn’t always practical, especially when it comes to batteries. First of all, batteries do not store a lot of power, and they are inconsistent in their own way. There’s a lot of different ways to compare battery energy storage with fossil fuels like gasoline and diesel, and it can get confusing. A common metric for measuring energy output is watt-hours or kilo (1000) watt-hours, commonly represented by kWh. So in theory, we could have a battery built to deliver 1000 watts over 1 hours’ time, but it’s not that simple. Let’s take a 12.8 volt @ 280 amp-hour lithium-ion battery for example. Its power output is expressed in amp-hours, meaning under ideal conditions it can output 280 amps for 1 hour, or 1 amp for 280 hours. This figure, for a 12-volt battery, is measured from full charge, which in this case is 12.8 volts to full discharge, which is usually specified at 10.5 volts. Since volts x amps = watts, as it discharges, the voltage goes down (unlike a fossil fuel-powered energy source in which the energy output stays fairly constant), which means the power output in watts goes down too. So 12.8 x 280 = 3584 watts at the start of the discharge cycle draining down to 10.5 x 280 = 2940 watts at full discharge voltage. So it means this battery from full charge to full discharge is outputting about 3 kWh of electricity. That’s about $.30 to $.45 of electricity (depending on what you pay for electricity where you live) if you bought that same power from the electrical grid. Many people have monthly power bills which average well over $100.00 per month nowadays, so that gives you some idea of just how “power hungry” us electricity consumers are. And remember, this is under ideal conditions. Often, conditions are less than ideal for a battery. Also, one must consider all batteries can endure only a certain number of charge/discharge cycles before they wear out and must be replaced. How fast the battery voltage (power output) goes down depends on the load current (amperage), the amp-hour rating of the battery, the overall condition of the battery, and the ambient temperature. The colder the temperature, the dramatically lower the battery output, so often you will not have the rated battery power to begin with. One way to compare fossil fuel energy to electrical energy potential is to use the heat energy metric - one of which is the BTU (British Thermal Unit). The amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water 1 degree Fahrenheit is 1 BTU and 1 kWh = 3414 BTU. In our previous battery example, the heat energy output of our battery is about 3 kWh, so 3 kwh x 3414 = 10,242 BTU. Once again, this is best case scenario. Often, you will get less. Does anyone know what the BTU content of plain old gasoline is? It’s about 125,000 BTU per gallon, which is well over 10 times this battery’s output. Granted, that’s at 100% efficiency and the internal combustion engine isn’t 100% efficient, but it’s still far better than the battery. That, among many other factors, is why we don’t have electric cars everywhere. So while batteries are well-suited for some applications, they’re not so good for others. Like I said: They’re good, but they’re not that good. Britt Britt Storkson may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com Construction is essential to our communities - but the people who build our roads, bridges, and utility systems are facing a quiet crisis: the industry has one of the highest suicide rates in the country. That's why CONEXPO-CON/AGG and The Utility Expo - North America's largest construction and utility trade shows - have partnered with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to bring mental health and suicide prevention resources directly to the show floor and the jobsite. Together, they will launch a multiyear initiative to provide mental health education, suicide prevention resources, and training tailored specifically to the needs of the construction industry. The partnership aims to break the stigma, educate the workforce, and ultimately save lives. Partnership to Promote Mental Health Awareness in Construction Industry
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