A reader notes: Here is a 10 MB hard disk from the 70’s that I was told cost $40k. Sitting on it is the 1 terabyte hard drive from my laptop. The cost (and size) of data storage is a …
Category: Energy Storage
“Gravity Batteries”
Below is a claim about a type of energy storage that exists in great abundance today in the form of pumped hydro. We take off-peak electrical energy and use it to lift a mass against the force of gravity, converting …
Flywheels as Energy Storage
The subject of energy storage is like anything else in technology: lots of entrants of completely different types that, over time are winnowed down, and ultimately, the “winners win and the losers lose.” What happens next is that the losers …
Tagged with: Flywheels as Energy Storage
Living Off the Grid
These proponents of sodium-ion batteries ask, Is living off the grid the new norm? The answer to this question is no. Obviously if you’re one of the tiny fraction of 1% of the world’s population who lives in a house …
Tagged with: Living Off the Grid
Storing Energy with Gravity
Here’s another variation on the theme of storing off-peak energy by pushing a mass uphill, and then releasing the mass when energy is needed. Think of it as pumped hydro without the hydro. This has an advantage over competitive ideas …
Tagged with: Storing Energy with Gravity
Does this Tri-Fuel Generator Have Real-World Advantages?
From this: With 13,000 watts of peak power, HXT series (of electrical generators) runs on gas, propane, or natural gas – the largest Tri Fuel Portable Generator on the market! Find where to buy. It runs on three different fuels. …
Does this Tri-Fuel Generator Have Real-World Advantages? Read More »
Tagged with: electrical power outage
Energy Storage in Flywheels
Here’s a clean energy investment opportunity that I don’t particularly recommend, for two main reasons: Flywheels have been around for hundreds of years, and, actually represented a viable potential solution to our energy storage needs, until the cost of batteries …
“New” Concept in Energy Storage
Here’s a piece on a subject we haven’t talked too much about recently: energy storage. In this case, it’s analogous to pumped hydro (see left) or advanced rail energy storage, both of which take off-peak energy and use it to …
Flywheels as Energy Storage
It’s been a while since we’ve discussed converting off-peak electricity to kinetic energy and storing it with the use of flywheels. Linked above is a start-up that claims to have breakthrough technology in this space. And indeed, breakthroughs will be …
Pumped Hydro Energy Storage
From a reader: Connecticut’s largest lake (Candlewood Lake) is really a 100-year-old hydroelectric facility. Water is pumped from the Housatonic River through a gigantic tube and into the lake, where the water is stored until it’s needed to generate electricity. …
Tagged with: pumped hydro energy storage
