File this one under K for Karma. US coal power plants have spent the past few decades messing with the nation’s water resources, and now water is turning around and messing with coal. The Energy Department is pushing ahead with plans for new hydropower and pumped hydro initiatives that will provide more energy storage and knock coal out of the baseload power generation picture.
Ouch!
Pumped Hydro Energy Storage In The USA
Let’s focus on pumped hydro first, because that’s where the DOE is looking to upend conventional wisdom.
Pumped hydro is an old technology but it still plays an outsized role in energy storage globally and here in the US. The basic idea is to store energy in the form of water held in an uphill reservoir, and leverage gravity to send it downhill to a generating station.
These giant “water batteries” still account for more than 95% of energy storage capacity in the US, so there’s that.
According to the conventional wisdom, the problem is that suitable sites for new pumped hydro energy storage facilities are limited. Cost is another inhibiting factor, as is the long timeline for project development.
New Concepts In Pumped Hydro Energy Storage
The conventional wisdom seems to be fading out. Researchers in Australia just published a new study indicating that the global potential for water batteries is far greater than previously though. The new Energy Department funding also looks to expand the universe of pumped hydro locations.
Part of the funds go to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Researchers there will focus on existing water storage tanks, of which there are many dotting the US landscape. The idea would be to construct additional tanks at higher elevations.
The Houston-based company Quidnet Energy Inc. will focus on injecting water under pressure into rock structures. The Energy Department is especially excited about this option.
Click Here to Read Full Article
Recent Comments