Report: Gravity-based energy storage could prove cheaper than batteries

"Storing energy by suspending weights in disused mine shafts could be cheaper than batteries for balancing the grid, new research has found.

According to a report by analysts at Imperial College London and seen by BusinessGreen, gravity-fed energy storage systems can provide frequency response at a cost cheaper than most other storage solutions."

"According to the paper, gravity-fed storage providing frequency response costs $141 per kW, compared to $154 for a lithium-ion battery, $187 for lead acid batteries and $312 for flywheel.

The numbers assume the storage performs 700 cycles per year of 15 minutes each, at a power output of 4MW, to help manage the real time grid balance between system demand and total generation."

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