The energy used to manufacture rechargeable and single-use batteries is 50 times greater than the electrical energy they produce when been discharged.
One NiCad mobile phone or power tool battery is enough to pollute 600,000 liters of water! That’s equivalent to a third of an Olympic sized swimming pool.
ABB, the global power and automation technology group, built the world’s largest battery energy storage system in Fairbanks, Alaska. The energy storage system includes a massive nickel-cadmium battery, power conversion modules, metering, protection and control devices and service equipment. This battery provides continuous voltage support during normal operation, as well as energy back-up to quickly provide power during system disturbances. The battery’s purpose is to be used as an electrical bridge during emergency power outages for customers of the Golden Valley Electric Association Inc (GVEA) in Fairbanks, Alaska. In operation, the battery will produce power for several minutes to cover the time between a system disturbance and when the utility company is able to bring back-up generation on line. The battery is a high performance nickel-cadmium storage battery made up of 13,760 energy cells. Each cell measures 16 in. by 21 in. This NiCad battery is approximately 21,520 square feet in size and weighs approximately 2,866,009. This big battery provides 40 megawatts of power - enough electricity for 12,000 people - for up to seven minutes.
