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This is a cool use of mass as a storage medium for energy, but the article captions a photo saying they are "producing renewable energy," which is absolutely fa
by dtagames 4y ago
This is a cool use of mass as a storage medium for energy, but the article captions a photo saying they are "producing renewable energy," which is absolutely false. The laws of physics say this system must operate at some loss. No new net energy is being produced, unlike (non-pumped) hydro, geo, or solar.
- karmakaze 4y agoThe phrasing is imprecise but I can see how it's different than say using electro-chemical batteries that have a limit on number of charges. "Storing energy renewably" seems better.
- dtagames 4y agoExcept that's it's a convolution of "renewable." Applied to energy, this means the source of the energy is renewable, which is not the case with fossil fuels or uranium but is with geo or solar. All storage is reusable. There is nothing to be "renewed" except re-filling and repairing the vessel. Being mechanical, this will also need to be maintained and renewed to keep working.