4 ms·

one of the most interesting strategies for grid storage I've seen is just pumping water up a hill. Then, when you want to get the energy back, just let it flow

one of the most interesting strategies for grid storage I've seen is just pumping water up a hill. Then, when you want to get the energy back, just let it flow back down through turbines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped-storage_hydroelectricity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped-storage_hydroelectricit... One of the potential strategies for dealing with grid storage in Europe is to turn Norway into a battery: https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/experts-respond-to-norway-battery-pack-dismissal https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/experts-respond... Very neat engineering.

sefrost 6y ago
I read about a similar idea using abandoned mine shafts. https://www.theengineer.co.uk/abandoned-mine-shafts-energy-storage/ https://www.theengineer.co.uk/abandoned-mine-shafts-energy-s...
- beaconstudios 6y ago
  oh I've heard about that one too actually - don't they suspend a large weight and use its potential energy as storage? I'm a sucker for these back-to-basics engineering projects. High tech batteries be damned, let's just use potential energy for storage!
  - _Microft 6y ago
    There is a German company suggesting to cut a large piece of rock (think: hundreds of meters in diameter and depth) lose and lift that by pumping water beneath it. A moving mountain, it would be. Totally crazy stuff, I should check if that ever made any progress. Here is a German article about it. As far as I remember, the real issue is that pumps/generators with the required powers are very expensive. https://www.ingenieur.de/technik/fachbereiche/energie/lageenergie-ein-riesen-felsklotz-idealer-stromspeicher/ https://www.ingenieur.de/technik/fachbereiche/energie/lageen...
    - billbrown 6y ago
      Omega Tau Podcast had a great episode about this company and project: https://omegataupodcast.net/299-gravity-storage/ https://omegataupodcast.net/299-gravity-storage/
      - _Microft 6y ago
        I did not know that yet, thanks for pointing it out!
paul_f 6y ago
In theory. Turns lout building pumped hydro is really hard. Finding suitable locations is a big challenge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSgd-QhLHRI&ab_channel=RealEngineering https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSgd-QhLHRI&ab_channel=RealE...
bluGill 6y ago
Neat, but we need thousands of Hoover dam's, including the lake at the top and bottom, to store enough energy just for the US. Or to put it a different way, imagine completely draining lake Superior in just two weeks, and then over the next two weeks completely refilling it. I'm not saying it isn't neat, but it doesn't scale to as much storage as we need.

sefrost 6y ago

I read about a similar idea using abandoned mine shafts. https://www.theengineer.co.uk/abandoned-mine-shafts-energy-storage/ https://www.theengineer.co.uk/abandoned-mine-shafts-energy-s...

beaconstudios 6y ago
oh I've heard about that one too actually - don't they suspend a large weight and use its potential energy as storage? I'm a sucker for these back-to-basics engineering projects. High tech batteries be damned, let's just use potential energy for storage!
- _Microft 6y ago
  There is a German company suggesting to cut a large piece of rock (think: hundreds of meters in diameter and depth) lose and lift that by pumping water beneath it. A moving mountain, it would be. Totally crazy stuff, I should check if that ever made any progress. Here is a German article about it. As far as I remember, the real issue is that pumps/generators with the required powers are very expensive. https://www.ingenieur.de/technik/fachbereiche/energie/lageenergie-ein-riesen-felsklotz-idealer-stromspeicher/ https://www.ingenieur.de/technik/fachbereiche/energie/lageen...
  - billbrown 6y ago
    Omega Tau Podcast had a great episode about this company and project: https://omegataupodcast.net/299-gravity-storage/ https://omegataupodcast.net/299-gravity-storage/
    - _Microft 6y ago
      I did not know that yet, thanks for pointing it out!

paul_f 6y ago

In theory. Turns lout building pumped hydro is really hard. Finding suitable locations is a big challenge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSgd-QhLHRI&ab_channel=RealEngineering https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSgd-QhLHRI&ab_channel=RealE...

bluGill 6y ago

Neat, but we need thousands of Hoover dam's, including the lake at the top and bottom, to store enough energy just for the US. Or to put it a different way, imagine completely draining lake Superior in just two weeks, and then over the next two weeks completely refilling it. I'm not saying it isn't neat, but it doesn't scale to as much storage as we need.