211–220 of 325 posts
Would love to see DC to DC grids become a thing again and it looks like they may - crazy to think that SF still has a fully operating DC grid powering all kinds of stuff.
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What goes into building and burying large scale underground structures like those air caverns?
you don't have to build those caverns as they already exist and we have extracted gas and liquids from them, also the volume should be already known as we know how much we pumped out (unless it's an old site)
In early 20th century in London there was an alternative hydraulic "power grid" with plants (aka pumps), storages and an underground distribution network of pipes. A building, for example, could connect to high pressure water mains and use it to power elevators. Electricity eventually won, but it's interesting to see an idea coming back. Zeppelins next! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Hydraulic_Power_Company
This sort of system is used today in many modern industrial facilities. Case in point: Amazon warehouses. Lots of the mechanical automations inside some of those warehouses are powered by compressed air in open loop systems. As the conveyor pushes the item off, onto a different lane, there's a distinct hiss of air escaping. The movement of the machine was powered by compressed air. Out in the parking lot in these fac…
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Isn't Afghanistan known to be sitting on top of ~1 trillion$ worth of lithium, and also Bolivia?
I still believe that's why the U.S. invaded anyway. We didn't care about overtaking a country for some silly resistance leader. You do it for big money to bilk - like Iraq and oil.
I really enjoy learning about quirky ways to "store" energy, there is also one case that allows "storing" of energy by pushing massive concrete blocks uphill and when energy is needed, blocks simply slide down and generate energy. Not sure if this can be called "Storing" though.
The more efficient version of this idea looks like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped-storage_hydroelectricit...
If you can't build it where you need it, then efficiency doesn't really matter now, does it?
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Goldman has army of analysts that are covering the field. Many many more than Even VCs that specialize in it. I would definitely write them off when it comes to smart investing.
Financial analysts != energy technologists with a scientific background. Its small money on a broad industry bet thats all in an economy with very few quality investments available. Don't read too much into it.
Seriously?
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you don't have to build those caverns as they already exist and we have extracted gas and liquids from them, also the volume should be already known as we know how much we pumped out (unless it's an old site)
Isn't the complexities related to making those caverns air and water tight for long period of time for long term energy storage requirements?
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This isn't correct. Deep mines are notoriously hot, because you're digging towards magma. Google says temps increase by 3° C for every 100m.
Do you have a source for that increase? I was not able to find it. Seems very suspect considering that the earths outer crust is approximately 20 to 30 miles thick. Are you suggesting that if we go approximately halfway through the outer crust, say 15 miles, the temperature is going to be 725 degrees warmer than surface temp?
Not sure about the rate per-mile, but literally it's that hot, yes, but not even 15 miles. Just down 5-7km under the oceans, for example at the Mohorovičić discontinuity the temp ranges from 392 to 752F.
Grid storage is going to be big business in the future, on the order of size of storage for electrical vehicles. (And these will certainly not be mutually exclusive markets! Vehicle to grid tech will become widespread, as is already seen in the new F150 Lightning truck). Lithium ion will dominate for the foreseeable future, as the industry has scaled to massive sizes and already, and has the advantage of being curren…
I have been saying for years that we should have a windmill system you could place on top of a building or home that powers a larger, highspeed flywheel buried underground below the house. Ideally with the flywheel in vacuum and balanced by magnets for reduced friction. This ensures no loss converting energy types (mechanical to mechanical) and it can be used later for electricity or other energy in small, large burs…
Or at least it would, if the overhead for current solar installers wasn't so high. Retail prices for equipment are incredibly low, but the boom-and-bust cycle caused by uncertain regulatory terrain ends up requiring successful biz to have massive marketing costs, which results in really high prices overall.