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They can do it anywhere with sufficient storage effort. That is a massive challenge but so is extraction of fossil fuels. The people who say it can’t be done ar

They can do it anywhere with sufficient storage effort. That is a massive challenge but so is extraction of fossil fuels. The people who say it can’t be done are lacking vision.

sharemywin 8y ago
just use concrete blocks to store energy: http://www.industrytap.com/giant-hanging-concrete-blocks-could-be-the-answer-to-the-worlds-energy-storage-needs/47235 http://www.industrytap.com/giant-hanging-concrete-blocks-cou...
- hn_throwaway_99 8y ago
  If you do the math on this you realize that the low value of gravitational potential energy makes it a horrible storage vehicle on a large scale for pretty much anything except pumped hydro.
- i80and 8y ago
  Gravity has immensely low power density; each 35 metric ton block described in that article only provides a theoretical maximum of 11 kWh. There's a reason gravity batteries usually use large bodies of water for their mass.
csours 8y ago
Financiers understand how extraction makes money. They will have to learn how storage makes money.
- Junk_Collector 8y ago
  Storage is just direct access to the energy arbitrage market. The problem isn't "How storage makes money," but rather, "how can I make money on storage." Storage requires large capital investments for what are typically small relative returns. However, there are some markets that are ripe for roll-out and Texas actually has a surprise advantage in the energy storage market. Many of those natural gas or oil wells are suitable reservoirs for compression storage of energy once they run dry which significantly lowers the capital costs of setting up that type of energy storage. Hell, some of those wells are even deep enough that they could be used to generate geothermal power in the future.
  - csours 8y ago
    I'm imagining what Enron would have done with this market. For those that don't know Enron actually did interesting things in the energy market for about 10 years before it went fully over to the dark side.

They can do it anywhere with sufficient storage effort. That is a massive challenge but so is extraction of fossil fuels. The people who say it can’t be done are lacking vision.

sharemywin 8y ago

just use concrete blocks to store energy: http://www.industrytap.com/giant-hanging-concrete-blocks-could-be-the-answer-to-the-worlds-energy-storage-needs/47235 http://www.industrytap.com/giant-hanging-concrete-blocks-cou...

hn_throwaway_99 8y ago
If you do the math on this you realize that the low value of gravitational potential energy makes it a horrible storage vehicle on a large scale for pretty much anything except pumped hydro.
i80and 8y ago
Gravity has immensely low power density; each 35 metric ton block described in that article only provides a theoretical maximum of 11 kWh. There's a reason gravity batteries usually use large bodies of water for their mass.

csours 8y ago

Financiers understand how extraction makes money. They will have to learn how storage makes money.

Junk_Collector 8y ago
Storage is just direct access to the energy arbitrage market. The problem isn't "How storage makes money," but rather, "how can I make money on storage." Storage requires large capital investments for what are typically small relative returns. However, there are some markets that are ripe for roll-out and Texas actually has a surprise advantage in the energy storage market. Many of those natural gas or oil wells are suitable reservoirs for compression storage of energy once they run dry which significantly lowers the capital costs of setting up that type of energy storage. Hell, some of those wells are even deep enough that they could be used to generate geothermal power in the future.
- csours 8y ago
  I'm imagining what Enron would have done with this market. For those that don't know Enron actually did interesting things in the energy market for about 10 years before it went fully over to the dark side.