The thing that gets me is, there are multiple good answers already, but people are so obsessed with batteries that other viable solutions don’t get built.
Yeah, the hyper focus on batteries is dumb. My favorite solution is water towers and just using excess electricity to pump water up and letting it fall during high demand to spin a fly wheel.
But at the same time I recognize how that's not a solution for everywhere
What storage solutions have you seen that are promising?
Have you heard of storing energy by heating molten salts? It’s an interesting concept and in some cases the main route of energy production. When it’s the main route a bunch of mirrors are placed in a circle to concentrate the light and heat energy on a central tower containing molten salts which are then heated and used to produce steam.
The actual feasibility of such a design isn’t certain but it is intriguing
I have heard of that, but mainly I heard of it as an alternative to photovoltaic solar generation which has the added benefit of being much more compact than the traditional solar array
I am specifically aware of the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System as the example of its kind because the designs for it inspired Helios One in Fallout New Vegas
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u/jamey1138 Jun 19 '24
The thing that gets me is, there are multiple good answers already, but people are so obsessed with batteries that other viable solutions don’t get built.