Have Batteries for Ireland's excess wind energy

Ireland regularly produces more energy, from wind, than it needs at night. 95GWh is more than the increase that happens 5-7pm. This means that if we could store the wind energy at night it would significantly help during peak hours of the evening.

How much would this cost? 

"Benchmark Lithium ion Battery Cell prices have fallen to $66.5/kWh in September (Benchmark’s Global Weighted Average); falling just shy of 20% this year". So if we store €60.38 worth of kWh energy that means the battery pays for itself.

At retail prices that is 190 stores and discharges. There is a wholesale retail difference but still six months payback time is so short as to still make it really economical.

Solar already significantly add to the electricity supply which means you might be able to get two discharges on a battery a day. Once in the smaller morning peak using overnight wind power and again in the evening using the days solar.

We have excess wind energy, and next summer solar, so often that grid scale lithium batteries could pay for themselves in months.

Summer 2026 everything gets weird

I think in the summer of 2026 lots of fundamental improvements in human lives will happen

1. Energy. Solar electricity will be plentiful enough that everyone starts to notice prices falling. Batteries will be deployed enough that the effect will extend into peak times.

2. Obesity. The glp-1 drugs go off patent in March 2026. And cheap generic versions will be commonly taken

Generic drugs get cheap fast

Patent expiry date. There could be some shenanigans gets the patent extended. 

I'm predicting 10+% of the population lose 6 kilos during the summer of 2026.

3. Health vaccines. New improved vaccines for TB, Malaria and even cancer should be rolled out enough by then to be visible in lifespan statistics.

4. Self driving cars. These have seemed in the cusp of deployment for a long time. I've been wrong before on when they will be regularly seen. But I'm going to risk being wrong again and claim it's summer 2026.

5. Drones. My local MacDonalds has a drone base behind it. Delivering food orders it seems like a few times a minute. This tech from Manna seems mature enough that it could be common lots of places in a year and a half.

6. Housing. I got nothing here. I can't see the build loads of apartments in a factory and assemble them on site solution being rolled out by then. Hopefully I'm wrong though. 

7. LLMS and AI. The tech is there and getting better but it is still not deployed in a way that really helps people. I think I'm a year and a half ai assistants for office jobs will be regularly used though. 

8.... Any other ideas for things that are about to change or lives a lot?

How will we show off next?

How people show off, or signal status, changes over time. Nowadays eating in famous fancy restaurants and travelling are higher status than in recent times. Whereas knowing about music, books and films seem to be less high status. Probably because anyone with bittorrent can look at any of these media for free. 

One way people signal status is to be slim. GLP-1 inhibitors are going to make this less of a signal soon. these drugs will get cheaper, easier to take and more effective. Meaning that more people will take them and reduce their weight. 

People argue that you should eat healthier instead but it is not an instead situation. People on GLP-1 eat more healthy foods, less junk foods and less alcohol.

Studies show an 11% reduction in overall food shopping spend (and more on alcohol).

What will people move to to signal that they are strong willed and look after themselves if weight is not as much of a signal? I guess clothes.

Clothes fashions have always cycled between casual and formal trends. The pandemic made it ok for adults to wander around in tracksuit bottoms and runners. My guess is that a more formal fashion will come in now where expensive clothes and tailoring is used as a signal as the status signal from weight delines in power.