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Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumEnergy-Storing Train Gets Nevada Approval
http://fortune.com/2016/05/22/energy-storing-train-nevada/[font face=Serif][font size=5]Energy-Storing Train Gets Nevada Approval[/font]
by David Z. Morris | @davidzmorris
May 22, 2016, 12:39 PM EDT
[font size=4]Startup will build a better grid by pushing heavy railcars up a hill.[/font]
[font size=3]One of the biggest challenges of the shift to renewable energy like solar and wind is energy storage. The wind or sun dont always generate power exactly when its needed, so infrastructure needs to bridge the gap. Batteries are the most frequently discussed solution, but there are other options out there, many of them surprisingly low-tech.
In April, the Nevada Bureau of Land Management granted environmental approval and a land lease to Advanced Rail Energy Storage (ARES), a startup with an energy storage solution thats both novel and old-school. Apparently taking some inspiration from the myth of Sisyphus, ARES proposes to use excess off-peak energy to push a heavily-loaded train up a grade. Then, when the grid needs that energy back, the cars will be rolled back down the slopebut in a significant improvement on the myth, that return trip will generate energy and put it back on the grid.
ARES solution is related to an already common kind of energy storage known as pumped-storage hydropower, which pumps water uphill, then captures the power of its downhill flow as needed. The obvious advantage of the ARES approach is that its more adaptable, without the need for lots of water. ARES has also said its solution costs about half as much as other storage technologies, and claims 80% efficiency in energy reclamation, similar to or slightly above typical hydro-storage efficiency.[/font][/font]
by David Z. Morris | @davidzmorris
May 22, 2016, 12:39 PM EDT
[font size=4]Startup will build a better grid by pushing heavy railcars up a hill.[/font]
[font size=3]One of the biggest challenges of the shift to renewable energy like solar and wind is energy storage. The wind or sun dont always generate power exactly when its needed, so infrastructure needs to bridge the gap. Batteries are the most frequently discussed solution, but there are other options out there, many of them surprisingly low-tech.
In April, the Nevada Bureau of Land Management granted environmental approval and a land lease to Advanced Rail Energy Storage (ARES), a startup with an energy storage solution thats both novel and old-school. Apparently taking some inspiration from the myth of Sisyphus, ARES proposes to use excess off-peak energy to push a heavily-loaded train up a grade. Then, when the grid needs that energy back, the cars will be rolled back down the slopebut in a significant improvement on the myth, that return trip will generate energy and put it back on the grid.
ARES solution is related to an already common kind of energy storage known as pumped-storage hydropower, which pumps water uphill, then captures the power of its downhill flow as needed. The obvious advantage of the ARES approach is that its more adaptable, without the need for lots of water. ARES has also said its solution costs about half as much as other storage technologies, and claims 80% efficiency in energy reclamation, similar to or slightly above typical hydro-storage efficiency.[/font][/font]
http://vimeo.com/75895781
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Energy-Storing Train Gets Nevada Approval (Original Post)
OKIsItJustMe
May 2016
OP
scscholar
(2,902 posts)1. Pumped-storage hydropower is just evil
I'm glad we're tearing down four more hydroelectric dams in the NW, as I read about here on April 7th, and the plan for another pumped-storage dam was abandoned.
dumbcat
(2,120 posts)2. Might you explain why
you think that?
NeoGreen
(4,031 posts)3. Not all pump-storage generation requires a dam...
hunter
(38,317 posts)4. These are the sorts of schemes that make nuclear power look reasonable.
I loved the cameo by Zond's Jim Dehlsen.
Dehlsen sold his wind empire to Enron. Most of the wind power systems Zond installed (way back when I was enthusiastic about these alternative energy schemes) have become dangerous scrap metal and lubricant spills.
Not pretty.
Scarring even more hillsides with this sort of crap doesn't make the world a better place.