BashStKidBashStKid@mastodon.online
Oct 15, 2026, 10:43 PMAnd that’s why I call bullshit on treating more transmission as the only solution, when the real solution with extra benefits is storage. (7/7)
Replies
Emeritus Prof. Christopher MayChrisMayLA6@mastodon.me.ukOct 16, 2026, 4:53 AMFair enough; the detailed argument is convincing.... thanks for taking the time to lay it out
Oct 16, 2026, 6:02 AM@BashStKid Great explanation indeed.
I tend to think that there are two issues at play: one is space (moving electricity from where it's produced to when it's used) and one is time (having electricity available when it's needed).
Increasing transmission capacity only solves for space. Storage seems like it only solves for time, but, since modern storage can be located pretty much wherever we want (unlike e.g. pumped storage), storage can *also* solve for space.
(1/2)
- Oct 16, 2026, 6:18 AM
It then becomes a problem of optimization. If we only allow ourselves to balance the location / controllability of generation and the sizing of transmission, we can't optimize nearly as much as if we add storage to the mix.
The beauty of storage is that it can solve for space in a very flexible way. There's no strict distinction between supply-side storage and demand-side storage, just fill any storage whenever you can, optimize with forecasts.
(2/2)
- BashStKidBashStKid@mastodon.onlineOct 16, 2026, 10:25 AM
@ChrisMayLA6 I should be the first to say there are big simplifications, being a toot and not a thesis.
The underlying problem is too much traditional thinking, all based on electrical engineering maths from the 1920s, all focused on high-voltage ac transmission and centralised generation.
We need some bright spark ⚡️ to come up with stable network equations for a fully distributed transient system. (sadly not a Millennium Prize problem). 
Oct 16, 2026, 7:08 AM@BashStKid Having no knowledge here 😀, is storage always batteries, or are there better ways? (Pumping water uphill, or storing pressurised air, for later release?) Thanks 👍
uoʇɹǝʌıɥƆ ɯo⊥falken@falkensweb.comOct 16, 2026, 7:32 AM@ToshInMacc @BashStKid yes, pumped storage of water is a thing in the UK
https://www.waterpowermagazine.com/analysis/uk-pumped-storage-projects-surge-after-40-year-gap/- BashStKidBashStKid@mastodon.onlineOct 16, 2026, 10:39 AM
@ToshInMacc Storage can be anything you like, the only question is how long it takes to ramp up, and the net efficiency.
Again, it would be nice to break away from massive centralised options towards a resilient redundant distributed system. (I often bang on about a gravity battery in every ex-mine, supplemented by a modest heat engine or thermocouple driven by the permanent high temps down below. ) 
T Monkeyteamonkey@mastodon.socialOct 16, 2026, 8:35 AM@BashStKid Yes, I’d argue that extra transmission capacity is a legacy from when BESS was less practical (only a few years ago!)
Also I think that extra capacity to transmit from Scotland further South is as much about being able to export it to mainland Europe as it is to power England. Norway doesn’t need it, but if we can oversupply and get it to the Humber more effectively, then it can go to Denmark, Germany.
- BashStKidBashStKid@mastodon.onlineOct 16, 2026, 11:14 AM
@teamonkey At which point folks in Scotland should be asking who’s profiting from those exports, folks in Scotland, or some private equity group in Monaco?
- T Monkeyteamonkey@mastodon.socialOct 16, 2026, 2:30 PM
@BashStKid People in Scotland should already be asking why their power bills are paying for gas turn-up in the South of England.