|
|
Post by staffordshrew on Sept 8, 2024 16:02:16 GMT 1
I've been fascinated by how surplus power can be stored since visiting the Rheidol Hydropower Plant, where water is pumped up into the reservoir when surplus power is available to provide full output hydropower within 90 seconds for, say, when everyone switches on the kettle at half time in a big TV event.
Storage is going to be even more important with wind and solar, but batteries are bulky and are made with valuable materials. Enter Gravitricity! They are looking at ways to store energy, one of which is to use old mine shafts - huge weights are winched up when electricity is surplus, then released using the winch as a generator when needed. There's a one second start up time and 50,000 mine shafts, not all of which would be suitable of course. What a wonderful simple idea.
|
|
|
|
Post by zenfootball2 on Sept 8, 2024 17:57:49 GMT 1
I've been fascinated by how surplus power can be stored since visiting the Rheidol Hydropower Plant, where water is pumped up into the reservoir when surplus power is available to provide full output hydropower within 90 seconds for,
say, when everyone switches on the kettle at half time in a big TV event.
Storage is going to be even more important with wind and solar, but batteries are bulky and are made with valuable materials. Enter Gravitricity! They are looking at ways to store energy, one of which is to use old mine shafts - huge weights are winched up when electricity is surplus, then released using the winch as a generator when needed. There's a one second start up time and 50,00 mine shafts, not all of which would be suitable of course. What a wonderful simple idea.
Yes it is let's hope they get the funding to roll this out,we have a lot of derelict coal mines. Energy storage is an issue for all energy suppliers ,to have a back up for peak periods |
|
|
|
Post by zenfootball2 on Sept 8, 2024 18:05:23 GMT 1
Whilst this is a different topic the area for energy production which gets virtually no funding is geothermal energy, it's low cost and and provides long term sustainable energy . The research about the viability is already done, the coal mines which are viable have been identified, but it needs a change in direction from the governments plans for energy production.
Iceland provides 20% of it's electricity by geothermal energy.
|
|
|
|
Post by staffordshrew on Sept 8, 2024 20:08:00 GMT 1
gravitricity.com/'To date we've raised £4.5m in private and public investment and won over £2.6m in R&D grants (from Innovate UK, BEIS and Scottish Enterprise'
|
|
|
|
Post by venceremos on Sept 10, 2024 16:32:10 GMT 1
Storage is going to be even more important with wind and solar, but batteries are bulky and are made with valuable materials.
Researchers at Edinburgh University are using bacteria to extract lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese & other rare minerals from old batteries and discarded electronic equipment. Vital work because China controls the main supplies of rare earth elements and dominates their processing as well, so creating a circular supply of them would be a significant advantage. |
|
|
|
Post by zenfootball2 on Sept 10, 2024 18:07:41 GMT 1
Unfortunately in the sense they dominate this market as well, China are also leading the way in sodium batteries, a Chinese car company BYD has built a huge plant to build sodium batteries for there cars .however this will be more sustainable and better for the planet.
As usual the short sighted UK government did nothing to stop a UK based company who were making sodium storage batteries been sold to India, who moved the production to india
|
|
|
|
Post by zenfootball2 on Sept 10, 2024 18:12:40 GMT 1
Storage is going to be even more important with wind and solar, but batteries are bulky and are made with valuable materials.
Researchers at Edinburgh University are using bacteria to extract lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese & other rare minerals from old batteries and discarded electronic equipment. Vital work because China controls the main supplies of rare earth elements and dominates their processing as well, so creating a circular supply of them would be a significant advantage. This is good news |
|
