5 ms·

So then you're pumping salt water into (presumably) a fresh water lake. I don't think that decreases the environmental damage.

• abraae 9y ago
  Yep, your upstream lake should also be saltwater.
  • Baeocystin 9y ago
    I honestly do not think there is anywhere in the world that has easy access to the ocean, a large potential hydraulic head, and a pre-existing elevated saline lake to work with. Maybe somewhere in the Atacama? Is there enough power demand in the region to make it worthwhile? [edit] I did find a very small seawater pilot project that was dismantled last year in Okinawa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawa_Yanbaru_Seawater_Pumped_Storage_Power_Station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawa_Yanbaru_Seawater_Pumpe...
  • 205guy 9y ago
    As the sibling comment shows, you can build an artificial lake large enough to be feasible. The Okinawa plant seems to have been decommissioned for lack of need (at its given cost). It was probably a victim of the current oil/gas extraction boom and artificially deflated oil prices. Still, I wonder about their ability to control costs due to corrosion--salt water is horrible for this reason.
    • Baeocystin 9y ago
      I couldn't find much more about the site in English, but considering how expensive the lining must have been for what was a pretty small storage pool, in addition to needing expensive materials like stainless steel and assorted specialty plastics to deal with corrosion... I can't know for sure, but regardless of whether they say it was due to weak demand or not, I bet it was the saltwater issue that sunk the project more than anything else.
    • AdamJacobMuller 9y ago
      Salt water corrosion is a big issue, but, if you're making a large upper pond, you're still causing massive environmental damage.