Beacon Power, a flywheel manufacturer has just extended the amount of power flywheels can store to 20 megawatts.

The benchmark for flywheels though - on power storage - has to be measured in watt hours per kilo. According to this wiki, they are at a still low 130 watt hours per kilo which compares to 160 for a lithium ion battery.

Flywheels then although they don't have the energy density of lithium ion batteries, do have much greater scaleability.

It appears we have only just got started with flywheels. Beacon Power, a maker of flywheels is venturing further into - storing and streamlining power from renewable energy sources and returning excess load back into the grid at the kilowatt level.

I have thought (and many others before me) for some time that wind power's impact is ulitimately hampered by energy storage and that inexpensive enough energy storage for power generated at night was the future for wind, which could then be sold back into the spot market at high margin during the day.

Far more eye-catching though within this American Scientist article is the idea that next generation flywheels are a much better bet for absorbing lost energy from large bursts of kinetic energy from e.g. hitting the brakes in your car compared to a chemical lithium ion battery - i.e. a Toyota Prius with a flywheel, not a set of lithium ion batteries. As there are no major improvements in battery technology on the horizon this is potentially a very exciting development.

The next generation of alternative energy vehicles now comprises;

i) highly reduced vehicle weights due to the use of plastics . . . e.g. the Loremo
ii) plug-in hybrids with rechargeable lithium ion batteries - see calcars
iii) and now potentially, hybrids with flywheel storage devices

So it makes you think that those behind the set america free campaign will have technology on their side, in spades, in the not too distant future.

The benchmark for success - other than cost - for the next generation flywheel has to be watt hours per kilo. If it can get way above 200 then on that level, they are in business.

I haven't paid enough attention to flywheels before - this will now change.