Interesting Presentations at the Summit on Energy Efficiency

I spent a few happy hours at the Santa Barbara Summit on Energy Efficiency over the last couple of days. Most (though not all) of the presentations were really good, and totally relevant to the audience.

I was really pleasantly surprised, because I’ve noticed that sometimes speakers have one PowerPoint deck, and make the same talk, regardless of the audience. None of us could believe that the lady presenting from the Office of Naval Research would spend 15 minutes on a slide, taking us through the names and ranks of dozens of people we couldn’t have cared less about.

Also, I’m amused at the way some speakers present ideas that leave the audience with gaping, obvious questions. Here’s a good example. The spokesperson from Southern California Edison, whose talk was otherwise excellent, talked about an energy storage project that her organization has underway in the Tehachapi Mountains, northeast of Los Angeles. It’s a whole bunch of lithium-ion battery packs that can provide 8 megawatts for 4 hours.

At the conclusion of her talk, I approached her, and we the following dialogue:

Craig: I’m amazed every time I hear about lithium-ion – or any other battery chemistry – proposed for utility-scale storage. If we’re struggling with the price of a 30 kilowatt-hour pack for an EV, is there really any trajectory for what you folks would need?

Linda: It sure would be expensive, wouldn’t it?

Craig: To be sure. Well given that, why build this 32 megawatt-hour project, which is obviously a drop in the bucket?

Linda: To be honest, I’m not sure.

Craig: Hmmm. Though I’ve heard good arguments for other ideas, to me, pumped hydro seems to be the only good storage technology — and especially if you’re in the mountains anyway, with the natural changes in elevation.

Linda: Yes, you’re probably right.

Craig: OK, thanks very much. Good presentation!

Linda: Thanks!

See? Nice, cordial conversation, but one that left me wondering what’s going on there. It’s a strange world sometimes.