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 One type of utility-scale flywheel is a carbon fiber disk 3 ft in
diameter, 6 ft tall, and weighing more than a ton. Spinning in a vacuum
at 16,000 RPM while floating on magnetic bearings, it can absorb excess
power and pay it back out over seconds or minutes to provide short term
energy balancing. Beacon Power is one manufacturer of flywheels, and
started a 20 MW plant in 2011, just before filing bankruptcy. Some claimed Beacon was the next Solyndra, but Slate.com chronicles the rise and fall of Beacon, as well as its resurrection and how it is on track for installing 100 MW by 2016.
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Re: Utility Flywheel Generates 20 MW
