Bottled Wind Could Be as Constant as Coal Power

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/03/compressed-air-plants/

by cwan • 16 years ago

8 5 16 years ago

When you compress air, it heats up and expands -- thus making the pressure go up faster than one might expect. So, when storing it you lose a lot of energy as heat.

When you let it uncompress, it cools -- losing a lot of energy again.

Point is, you lose quite a bit of energy going both ways.

A good solution might be to combine wind and pumped hydro: have the wind turbine pump water to a higher elevation when extra wind is available.

jessriedel• 16 years ago

That is definitely an interesting point, although I assume it was taken into account when companies and the government did their comparison with hydroelectric storage. Larger caverns should reduce the amount of energy lost due to heat.

rwhitman2• 16 years ago

Ok, I know this is going to sound really juvenile, but I clicked on this link thinking it was a joke about farts.

philwelch• 16 years ago

HN isn't the type of place where you should share every thought that crosses your mind. If someone does submit a fart joke you should just flag it.

rwhitman2• 16 years ago

So no one sees the possibility of humor in a renewable energy technology called "Bottled Wind"?

Bottled Wind Could Be as Constant as Coal Power

Related Stories