Mystery of 60-second power grid fluctuations solved
The gist
A team led by Dirk Witthaut found large battery storage systems checking charge every minute cause the dips.
The effect is global and the brief spikes may add wear to turbines.
How it unfolded
- Oct 30, 2026Forschungszentrum Jülich announces that Dirk Witthaut's team, with Cologne and Karlsruhe researchers, has shown 60-second grid fluctuations come from large battery storage systems checking state of charge every minute; findings published in Nature Energy.
- Oct 30, 2026Tech Xplore republishes the story, citing the Nature Energy paper.
- Oct 31, 2026Tech Xplore's Facebook post says brief dips in grid frequency every 60 seconds appear linked to charge checks in large battery systems.