5 ms·

Salinity issues aside, in my understanding locks generally don’t pump water at all: they work entirely on gravity. In effect this means that a burst of water fl

Salinity issues aside, in my understanding locks generally don’t pump water at all: they work entirely on gravity. In effect this means that a burst of water flows downstream every time the lock is cycled.

pseingatl 3y ago
Correct.
iancmceachern 3y ago
Exactly, they basically harness the natural water cycle (rain to watersheds to waterways to ocean). The one exception is with these new locks, I bet they pump a bunch of the water back now instead of releasing it, that's how I expect they get the 60%.
- Animats 3y ago
  Nope, it's not pumped. It's a clever system where there are several storage basins at different levels.[1] In the 1960s and 1970s, there was a nuclear reactor mounted on a ship to provide power for the Panama Canal. This reduced water loss via the hydroelectric plant at Gatun Dam, leaving more water for the locks.[2] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_expansion_project#Water_saving_basins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_expansion_project... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MH-1A https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MH-1A
  - iancmceachern 3y ago
    Truly incredible, thank you!
  - slashdev 3y ago
    Perhaps the solution is as simple as invest in more electric generating capacity in Panama. At 8 degrees off the equator, solar is plentiful. One could use lake Gatun for pumped hydro storage as well.
    - nocoiner 3y ago
      Would there be enough elevation change to generate significant hydropower, though?
      - slashdev 3y ago
        It currently generates hydropower, so I suppose so.
      - SoftTalker 3y ago
        Another comment says ships are raised 85 feet during the transit, that sounds like enough to me if that is correct (not a hydropower engineer)
        nocoiner 3y ago
        Apparently it’s 6 MW, which ain’t nothing, but isn’t a tremendous amount either. I don’t know what a typical battery storage facility can put out instantaneously - I would think more, perhaps substantially more. Though the lake certainly would have the capacity advantage!
    - iancmceachern 3y ago
      Another commenter noted that they did this in the 60s and 70s, apparently there was a floating nuclear reactor there so they didn't need so much hydro power, keeping the reservoir more full
- Cthulhu_ 3y ago
  But they therefore depend on rain to work; thanks to climate change and changing weather patterns, that's no longer as predictable as it once was. I mean when it comes to the Panama canal, pumping water upstream is an option, but as another commenter mentioned, it's a lot of water and will therefore cost a lot of energy to do.

pseingatl 3y ago

Correct.

iancmceachern 3y ago

Exactly, they basically harness the natural water cycle (rain to watersheds to waterways to ocean). The one exception is with these new locks, I bet they pump a bunch of the water back now instead of releasing it, that's how I expect they get the 60%.

Animats 3y ago
Nope, it's not pumped. It's a clever system where there are several storage basins at different levels.[1] In the 1960s and 1970s, there was a nuclear reactor mounted on a ship to provide power for the Panama Canal. This reduced water loss via the hydroelectric plant at Gatun Dam, leaving more water for the locks.[2] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_expansion_project#Water_saving_basins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_expansion_project... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MH-1A https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MH-1A
- iancmceachern 3y ago
  Truly incredible, thank you!
- slashdev 3y ago
  Perhaps the solution is as simple as invest in more electric generating capacity in Panama. At 8 degrees off the equator, solar is plentiful. One could use lake Gatun for pumped hydro storage as well.
  - nocoiner 3y ago
    Would there be enough elevation change to generate significant hydropower, though?
    - slashdev 3y ago
      It currently generates hydropower, so I suppose so.
    - SoftTalker 3y ago
      Another comment says ships are raised 85 feet during the transit, that sounds like enough to me if that is correct (not a hydropower engineer)
      - nocoiner 3y ago
        Apparently it’s 6 MW, which ain’t nothing, but isn’t a tremendous amount either. I don’t know what a typical battery storage facility can put out instantaneously - I would think more, perhaps substantially more. Though the lake certainly would have the capacity advantage!
  - iancmceachern 3y ago
    Another commenter noted that they did this in the 60s and 70s, apparently there was a floating nuclear reactor there so they didn't need so much hydro power, keeping the reservoir more full
Cthulhu_ 3y ago
But they therefore depend on rain to work; thanks to climate change and changing weather patterns, that's no longer as predictable as it once was. I mean when it comes to the Panama canal, pumping water upstream is an option, but as another commenter mentioned, it's a lot of water and will therefore cost a lot of energy to do.