As many as 40,000 people have come to see this downstate roadside attraction: a metal dragon, as big as a school bus, with a flamethrower in its mouth. Curious City takes a road trip out of Chicago to get the story behind this dragon.
Lithium is one of the hot commodities of the 21st century: needed for electric vehicles, semiconductors needed for AI, and grid-scale batteries. While the U.S. was once a pioneer in lithium production, it's fallen off — with others, including China, taking the reins. On our third and final episode of our grid battery series, we look at the race to produce the key ingredient in most of these batteries.
Related episodes: How batteries are already changing the grid (Apple / Spotify) How EV batteries tore apart Michigan (Update) (Apple / Spotify) The surprising leader in EVs (Apple / Spotify) How China became solar royalty (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Will spending by 'dark money' groups face more restrictions from Congress? Luke Wachob of People United for Privacy believes it may depend on how politically threatened incumbents feel by that kind of speech.
If you want to build a grid-scale battery project in Texas, be prepared to ride the free-market rodeo. On our second episode of this week's battery series, we visit the state that has the second-most battery storage capacity to understand whether large-scale batteries can help prevent blackouts.
Related episodes: How batteries are already changing the grid (Apple / Spotify) Texas' new power grid problem (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Your lack of wealth shouldn't limit your investment options, but the SEC has for decades actively prevented lower-wealth Americans from making certain investments. Nick Morgan of the Investor Choice Advocates Network and Cato's Jennifer Schulp explain.
Renewable energy, when it comes to solar and wind power, has always had a caveat: it can only run when the wind blows or the sun shines. The idea of a battery was floated around to make renewables available 24/7. For years, it existed as an expensive, little-used technology. And then in 2021, it took off.
In California, there is now enough grid-scale battery storage to power millions of homes, at least for a few hours, and it's growing fast. How did that happen, and what does the newfound success mean for the grid?
This week, we dig into three stories about grid-scale battery storage. Today, we go on-the-ground to California, where batteries first took off in the U.S.
Related episodes: Rooftop solar's dark side (Apple / Spotify) How EV batteries tore apart Michigan (Update) (Apple / Spotify) How China became solar royalty (Apple / Spotify) Wind boom, wind bust (Two windicators) (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
