The California Energy Commission today announced that an innovative flywheel energy technology to enhance California’s electricity grid is now one step closer to commercialization. The Smart Energy Matrix system, developed by Beacon Power’s, is a 100-kilowatt scale-power flywheel energy storage system and a prototype for Beacon’s planned 20-megawatt-level commercial system.
Check out a flash animation of how this technology would be used to regulate the grid. This regulation feature could also be used to do the same for variable output renewable technologies like wind or solar. See a very good video of how these techs would work with renewable energy and how the energy market works here.