Gravity-Based Energy Storage
About a decade ago, a client hired me to evaluate a start-up in the energy storage field called Advance Rail Energy Storage (ARES). The concept is a variation on the theme of pumped hydro, which currently represents more than 95% of the grid-scale energy storage on Earth. Rather than moving water around, it deploys a train car laden with concrete that is pushed uphill with surplus energy from solar or wind, then allowed to slide downhill, releasing that energy when needed.
ARES is mentioned in this article in which a variety of gravity-based storage concepts is discussed. The author notes, correctly, that none of this has gathered financial traction, which I believe is due to the fact that storage is not yet a gating factor to integrating more intermittent resources into the grid-mix. (Will be soon, but not now.)
I told my client, “If there is a window for this technology, it’s now, and don’t expect that window to stay open forever. This is technology based on Newton, ca. 1660 and Faraday, ca. 1830, and there’s precious little that can be done to improve on it. Meanwhile new battery chemistries are gaining on you every year.”
I’m not in.
Craig,
I hope your client remunerates you appropriately for your sage advice 🙂
Most of these oddball energy storage devices arise from poor planning and fuzzy thinking.
Wind and to a lesser extent solar power are technologies of limited value and come with many economic disadvantages.
These technologies were created to meet the demand arising from not one, but two, hastily conceived solutions to problems which were largely illusory.
The first was the panic over “peak oil” which was exacerbated by OPEC led rises in oil prices. When Exxon destroyed the validity of “peak oil” by introducing astonishing new technology, attention the turned first to “global Cooling” fthen “global warming” and finally “climate Change”.
At the same time, technology of all sorts was transforming almost every aspect of human life. Whole populations were captivated by the vast changes technology was making to how societies functioned and very little thought was given to future outcomes or consequences.
Suddenly, the impossible seemed possible. Vast fortunes and empires were springing up in the world of Hi-Tech at dizzying speeds of progress.
A whole new faith arose around “science” and “technology”. Governments around the world caught the mood of the moment and raced to pour money into any popular technology that showed promise.
Little thought was given to long range consequences. Enthusiasm was contagious and a whole new political/ideological/ quasi religion was born.
The halcyon days between 2015 and 2015 was a decade of enormous progress and change.
But by 2016, the illusions started to show signs of fading and despite the best efforts of the High priests,acolytes and faithful true believers, doubts began to surface.
In global trade, the fashionable mantra of globalization began to unravel as formerly affluent nations suddenly grew suspicious that the shinning goal of a “free market’ simply meant theft, corruption and transference of wealth to nations who didn’t abide by the lofty ideals.
In energy, it was a victory for the Western ideologues over commonsense. As nation after nation invested in hugely inadequate and costly energy technologies, nations like India and China captured markets as the west became increasing noncompetitive due to rising energy costs.
Somewhere in all the excitement and enthusiasm, Western nations forget the original objectives, concentrating instead on ideological purity and “symbolism”.
Somehow, inadequate technologies such as Solar and Wind just had to work. Nothing else was acceptable to the new green ideologues, practical consideration were ignored.
It wasn’t that the technologies of Wind and Solar were totally valueless, simply that the investment in the technologies was driven by hope and overly optimistic expectations.
Technology became very partisan. Even the desired ambition of “Clean Energy” or “Clean(er) technologies” became lost or confused as advocates for vested interests assumed entrenched positions and desperately fought to preserve the growth of one type of technology over others.
Coal and Nuclear became the big losers in both the mind of the public, political class, media, as “green” ideologues demand ever increasing taxpayer funding to maintain the pretense of inadequate technologies being practical.
Despite both Coal and Nuclear undergoing revolutionary and immense changes in technology to become the most environmental and economically beneficial energy producing technologies, with no long term disadvantages, both are still treated as pariahs.
In contrast, the “green’ lobby frantically tries to prevent any discussion about the increasingly large Elephant in the room !
The elephant is the obvious drawbacks in wind and solar technology. These drawbacks are both short and long term.
Storage technology for Solar and Wind power is just another attempt to make a square peg fit a round hole. Investing even more money in an attempt to bolster the validity of economically failed, inadequate technologies.
Neither Solar nor Wind are total failures. Both technologies have limited uses in certain locations and circumstances.
Neither Solar or Wind can produce the sort of economical, reliable, “energy on demand” energy required by industrial societies.
With Coal and advanced Nuclear the environmental and economic factors are well established, both in the short term and in the long term.
Both Solar and Wind proving increasingly problematic. The problems aren’t just economic and inadequacy, but environmental.
Both are developing into a “cure” which becomes worse than the disease !
When asked question, the advocates either remain increasingly silent, or shout loudly! Discussion has disintegrated into a new sort of cold war.